Fujian's largest Buddhist temple, home to China's tallest twin stone towers, is located in Quanzhou, Fujian Province, at Kaiyuan Temple
✅【Life】
"In this small town where I live, everyone firmly believes that there are gods three feet above their heads, and they also believe in spirits. People live closely with ghosts and gods..." This is how writer Cai Chongda describes the attitude of Quanzhou people towards gods in his book 'Skin'.
🚩【Folklore】
In the daily life of Quanzhou people, the folklore of "respecting heaven and earth and fearing ghosts and gods" is vividly preserved. Here, there is a temple every five steps and a temple every ten steps. It is a "city of all gods" that integrates various beliefs such as Buddhism, Taoism, Christianity, Manichaeism, and Hinduism.
📍【Check-in】
Kaiyuan Temple, located on West Street in Licheng District, Quanzhou, can be said to be one of the most representative places of Quanzhou's earthly and immortal atmosphere. Many people even list visiting Kaiyuan Temple as a must-do when traveling to Quanzhou.
📖【History】
It was first built in the second year of the Tang Dynasty, and has a history of more than 1300 years. It is the largest Buddhist temple in Fujian and a national key cultural relics protection unit. As a major part of "Quanzhou: The World Maritime Trade Center of Song and Yuan China", it has been included in the "World Cultural Heritage List".
➡️【What you see】
The Kaiyuan Temple we see now, its main temples were mostly built during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It was originally called "Lotus Temple" because of the allusion of "Mulberry Opening White Lotus". Later, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty ordered the construction of temples throughout the country to show the grandeur of the Tang Dynasty, and they were all named after the year, hence the name "Kaiyuan Temple".
📍【Scale】
The temple covers nearly 120 acres and consists of a series of buildings such as the main building group in the middle road and the east and west stone towers. Not only is it high in regulation, majestic, and cleverly constructed, but it is also more splendid and brightly lit when you look closely.
Especially the Zhenguo Tower and Renshou Tower, which are arranged in a "品" shape with the Daxiong Hall, not only stand tall for thousands of years, but are also the highest pair of stone towers in our country. Their meticulous and precise stacking methods and the exquisite relief carvings on the tower body are all shocking and are undoubtedly national treasures.
🚩【Achievements】
In addition, there are wooden couplets personally written by Zhu Xi, the Ganlu Jietan, which is known as one of the three major Jietan in China along with Beijing Jietai Temple and Hangzhou Zhaoqing Temple, and the Sutra Pavilion with a rich collection of historical materials, etc., are all must-see check-in points at Kaiyuan Temple.
Of course, in addition to the magnificent and exquisite architecture and the long and diverse culture of Kaiyuan Temple, its classical, elegant, quiet and deep environmental atmosphere is also a reason why many people prefer it.
✅Check-in tips
➡️Quanzhou· Kaiyuan Temple
📍No. 176 West Street, Licheng District, Quanzhou City
🎫Free open to the public
⏰Opening hours 06:00-11:00; 15:00-18:00
🚩Check-in points: East and West Towers—Daxiong Hall—Ganlu Jietan
🚌601, 014, 006, 002, get off at Kaiyuan Temple Station