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Eight Outer Temples

Eight Outer Temples

Write: Bardo [2011-05-23]

The Eight Temples are located in the east and north surrounding the Palace complex in the shape of numerous stars embosoming the moon, which symbolizes the unification of the nation and friendly relationships between the various nationalities in the country.
To the north-east of the Mountain Resort of Chengde, lies the Eight Outer Temples, the emperor's summer residence during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). 'Eight Outer Temples' is a collective name given to 12 temples located outside Gubeikou - a section of the Great Wall. Eight of the temples were administered by Lifan Yuan, an administration department for the affairs of minorities such as Mongolian and Tibetan, and so the name stuck. Together with the Mountain Resort of Chengde, the temple has been as a World Heritage Site.
The Eight Temples are the embodiment of the combination of the Han and Tibetan art of architecture. They along with the Summer Palace was listed to the world Heritage site together in September, 1994.
The Eight Outer Temples actually refers to the historically existing 12 temples- the Boren Temple, Boshan Temple, Puning Temple, An'yuan Temple, Pule Temple, Puyou Temple, Putuozongcheng Temple, Guang'an Temple, Suxiang Temple, Luohan Hall (luohan, arahat in buddhist term), the temple for praying happiness and longevity and Kuixing Attic, but only 7 them are well preserved.. The Boshan Temple, Guang'an Temple and Kuixing Attic do not exist now, The Puyou Temple and Luohan Hall have suffered serious damage and only some parts remain.
Putuo Zongchengzhi Temple is located to the north of Mountain Resort of Chengde. It is the biggest and the most magnificent building in Eight Outer Temples. Built in 1767 imitating the style of the Potala Palace, the temple is also named 'little Potala Palace'. For another reason that 'Putuo Zongchengzhi' is a Tibetan language meaning 'Potala Palace' in Chinese. The halls and pavilions in it were designed to naturally strew on hillside according to the hypsography. The Big Red Platform is the principle construction of the temple. The platform and the three halls on it are all with the copper gold tiles roof.
Take Puning Temple for example, there is the largest woodcarving figure of Buddha---the Kwan-yin Bodhisattva with a thousand hands in the world-wide in its Dacheng Attic. The statue of the woodcaring Buddha is 22.28 meters in height and 110 tons in weight. It was carved with the wood of pines, sypresses, elms, basses and firry lumbers.
The Eight Outer Temples were built by the Qing government to strengthen a unity with the minorities, thus the temples not only feature Han style, but also the Mongolian and Tibetan styles, with the symbolic meaning of unity in China. The architectures, inscriptions, sculpture, and murals in these temples are important materials for the study of history, culture, religion, and architectural art.
To get there, you can take bus No. 6 outside the Mountain Resort of Chengde.

Scenic Area: Admission Fee
Budala Xanadu Area (including Putuo Zongcheng Temple and Xumi Fushou Temple) CNY80 (April 1 - October 31)
CNY60 (November 1 to March 31 of the next year)
Puning Temple Area (including Puning Temple and Puyou Temple) CNY80 (April 1 - October 31)
CNY60 (November 1 to March 31 of the next year)
Qingchuifeng Area (including Pule Temple, Anyuan Temple and Qingchuifeng National Forest Park) CNY50