On the first day of the Lunar New Year, blessings are sought at Kaiyuan Temple
Quanzhou Ancient City Walk, the third stop, Quanzhou Kaiyuan Temple!
Kaiyuan Temple is located on West Street in Licheng District, Quanzhou City. It was built in the second year of the Chuigong era during the reign of Empress Wu Zetian of the Tang Dynasty, and has a history of more than 1300 years. Originally named Lotus Dojo, it was renamed Kaiyuan Temple in the 26th year of the Kaiyuan era. It is an important cultural relic along the southeast coast of China and also one of the largest Buddhist temples in Fujian Province.
Kaiyuan Temple faces south with its back to the north. The central axis courtyard includes the mountain gate, worship courtyard, east and west corridors, Mahavira Hall, Sweet Dew Precept Platform, and Sutra Repository, among others.
The Heavenly King Hall serves as the mountain gate of Kaiyuan Temple. Crossing the mountain gate, one arrives at the worship courtyard, where the towering east and west pagodas and the spacious and bright east and west corridors are symmetrically arranged on both sides. The east and west pagodas are famous attractions of Kaiyuan Temple.
The east is the 'Zhen Guo Pagoda,' built between the second year of the Jiaxi era and the tenth year of the Chunyou era of the Southern Song Dynasty (1238-1250). It is an octagonal five-story stone pagoda in the style of a wooden pavilion, with a total height of 48.27 meters. The outer walls of the pagoda are decorated with stone statues arranged according to the five levels of Buddhism, from bottom to top: heavenly generals, arhats, high monks, bodhisattvas, and Buddhas, totaling 80 statues, representing the five realms of Buddhist practice. The base of the pagoda is carved with 37 panels of Buddhist stories, promoting the Dharma.
The west is the 'Ren Shou Pagoda,' built during the Shaoding and Duanping eras of the Southern Song Dynasty (1228-1236). It is also an octagonal five-story stone pagoda in the style of a wooden pavilion, with a total height of 45.06 meters. The outer walls of each layer are alternately carved with figures from the various vehicles of Buddhism, totaling 80 statues, representing the Buddhist concept of the equality of all sentient beings' Buddha-nature. The base of the pagoda is carved with 40 panels of flowers, birds, and animals, harmonizing with this beautiful world.
The east and west pagodas of Kaiyuan Temple are the tallest pair of stone pagodas from the Song Dynasty still existing in China, representing the highest level of stone construction skills in China in the 13th century.
The main building is the Mahavira Hall. Rebuilt during the Ming Dynasty, it is known as the 'Hall of a Hundred Pillars.' The hall was originally planned to have one hundred pillars, but later, to accommodate Buddha statues and make space for Buddhist worship, the beams were lengthened and the number of pillars was reduced, resulting in the 'Hall of a Hundred Pillars' with 86 pillars.
When I went there, it was the first day of the Lunar New Year, and many pilgrims were burning incense and praying for blessings. There were so many people. When in Rome, do as the Romans do, so I also experienced the New Year atmosphere of the people of Quanzhou!
After leaving Kaiyuan Temple, I strolled and ate along West Street, tasting the local specialties of Quanzhou, such as ginger duck, noodle paste, frozen siphon, soft rice cake, vinegar meat, and Shihuagao... I just marveled at how many delicious things there are 😍😍😍!
Address: No. 176 West Street, Licheng District, Quanzhou City
Time: 6:30-17:00
Average cost: Free
PS: It takes 20 minutes to walk from Quanzhou Prefecture Confucian Temple to Kaiyuan Temple, passing through the arcade building commercial street and the bell tower.
Quanzhou Kaiyuan Temple is the largest and best Kaiyuan Temple in Kaiyuan Temple across the country. There are many monuments inside, such as the wall, the two towers of the east and west, the wooden carvings of the great hall, and the hanging arches of the Song Dynasty. For tourists who like history, ancient construction and religion, it is a wonderful attraction.
Quanzhou's iconic must-visit attractions, the temple knows from the name is the Tang Dynasty, the Song Dynasty built the East and West Twin Towers is the city logo of Quanzhou, and it is also the highest height of the domestic brick tower. The decoration on the tower is both Indian and Southeast Asian styles, reflecting Quanzhou as the cultural blend of Oriental Dagang in the Song and Yuan Dynasty. Color. There are white pigeons strolling in the square in front of the Daxiong Palace. The red wall and yellow tiles on the side of the palace are suitable for filming. There are ancient Bodhi trees behind the hall. On the east side of the hall, there is a memorial hall for Li Shutong, a mage who is still in Quanzhou. The temple opens at 6:30 and there is no ticket. It is recommended to visit when it is clean in the morning. It is quite artistic.
The teacher's explanation was meticulous and interesting. It saved my play experience when there were too many people to blow up that day (I want to go back to the hotel directly when I see the people at the door ཀ`" ∠)__
Had a pleasant time during Mr. Huang's exclusive explanation, which was a great value recommended travel experience. After booking, you will call in advance and communicate the visit time and meeting place, and the main one will start the day. Mr. Huang is very kind, knowledgeable and humorous, and the whole trip has added a lot of geography, culture, religion and architecture knowledge, and at the same time combine historical allusions to deeply understand the development of Quanzhou Kaiyuan Temple. Teacher Huang will throw bricks and jade from time to time, and test my observation power. It is large to the beams, towers, and small to one brick and one tile. I have to say that it is really full of harvest, thank you again Mr. Huang!
Kaiyuan Temple is very large. If you don’t listen to the explanation, this kind of attraction is equivalent to white. There are a lot of things you can talk about and listen to. The local guides in Xiaozhang are very professional and have a wide knowledge. It takes a total of one and a half hours, but it doesn’t feel very good enough. Time can be a little more! Going out is West Street, it is recommended!
This time I went to Quanzhou and it was really full of harvest. The intangible culture of the city was dizzying. In particular, the senior tour guide we asked to visit Kaiyuan Temple explained to us in detail, very exciting and very interesting. It is our deep understanding of the past and present lives of Kaiyuan Temple. The tour guide took the initiative to contact us at the first party, and will wait at the agreed time in advance the next day. Communication is smooth.