Longhua Temple
Longhua Temple, located in Longhua Town, Xuhui District, Shanghai, is the oldest and largest ancient temple in Shanghai. According to legend, Longhua Temple was built in the Three Kingdoms, and Sun Quan, the prince of Wu, was built by his mother. It has a history of 1700 years, and the existing temples were rebuilt during Guangxu period of Qing Dynasty. Today, Longhua Temple has long been a religious tourist attraction composed of ancient temples, ancient pagodas, Longhua Temple Fair and Longhua Night Bell.
Longhua Temple has quiet scenery, towering temples, resplendence and solemn Zen. The temples in the temple are neat and the layout is reasonable. The main buildings are: Bell Tower, Drum Tower, Maitreya Hall, Tianwang Hall, Ursa Major Hall and three temples. The first hall is Maitreya Buddha Hall, and the center of the hall is dedicated to Maitreya Buddha and Bodhisattva. Like other temples, the statue of Maitreya worshiped here is said to be the image of a cloth-bag monk of the Five Dynasties in China (hence its name), with his chest bare and his mouth always smiling. The second hall is the Heavenly King Hall. On both sides of the hall are statues of the four great kings, which are 4 meters high, round face and neat posture. Different from other temples, the Temple of the King also enshrines a statue of Maitreya, which is the crown of heaven. The third hall is the Ursa Major Hall, which is the main hall in the hall. There are three golden bodies in the temple, "Hua Yan San Sheng". In the middle is Pilu Jinnafo, also known as Dharma Buddha. On the left is Manjusri Bodhisattva, riding a lion with a five-bun top, showing great wisdom. On the right is Bodhisattva Samantabhadra, riding a white elephant as a demonstration instrument. There is also a temple clock cast in the 14th year of Wanli in Ming Dynasty (1586).
There is a bronze bell of Qinglong hanging above the bell tower in the temple, which was cast in the 20th year of Guangxu (1894). It is about 2 meters high and weighs 13000 kg. At the end of each year, there will be an activity of "Welcome the New Year, Hit Longhua Night Bell", which attracts a large number of tourists.
Tips for tourist attractions
Admission: 10 yuan/person.
How to get there: Take bus No.73, No.87, No.41,No.44, 104 in Shanghai.
Opening hours: 07: 10 to 16: 30.
Diet: Longhua Temple vegetarian chicken, vegetarian noodles.