Kaiyuan Temple lies on West Street in Licheng District, covering an area of 78 thousand square meters. Built in the second year of Chuigong during the reign of Emperor Wu Zetian in the Tang Dynasty , Kaiyuan Temple now has a long history of over 1,300 years. It is one of the key Buddhist Temples and national heritage conservation sites in China, with large scale, magnificent construction and beautiful scenery. Kaiyuan Temple enjoys equal popularity with White Horse Temple in Luoyang, Temple of Soul's Retreat in Hangzhou and Universal Rescue Temple in Beijing.
Built in 686 (during the reign of Empress Wu Zetian), Kaiyuan Temple is located on West Street in Quanzhou City. Through past restorations, it has now become a fairly complete set of courtyard galleries. As the largest Buddhist temple in Fujian Province, Kaiyuan Temple has attracted many domestic and foreign travelers who are interested in Buddhist culture.
Most of the temple's architecture has special artistic features of the Tang (618-907), the Song (960-1279), the Yuan (1271-1368), the Ming (1368-1644), and the Qing (1644-1911) Dynasties. Major buildings in Kaiyuan Temple include Tianwang Hall, Daxiong Palace, the Sweet Dew Temple, the Sutra Depository, and Gongde Tang. Two long corridors and two stone towers date from the Song Dynasty (960-1279). In addition, many cultural relics are kept in the temple.
Kaiyuan temple is most famous for its twin Pagodas, The eastern one is called 'Nation Protecting Pagoda' (Zhengguo ta), and the western, 'Merits and Longevity pagoda' (Renshou ta). They are over 40 meters high, the highest twin pagodas in our country. On both sides of the gate recess of each storey there are relieves of knights, heavenly kings, King Kong and arhats, etc. The twin pagodas still stand there though subject to rains and winds. It is the unique landmark and symbol of ancient city of Quanzhou as well as the precious treasure of stone buildings of ancient China. The eastern pagoda is listed as one of the four stamp pictures of ancient pagoda of China in the year of 1994.
The gate to the temple is known as Tianwang Hall. It was built in the third year of Chuigong during the reign of Emperor Wu Zetian in the Tang Dynasty . The constructions existing now were built in 1925 A.D. The pillars are shuttle-shaped, thick in the middle and thin at the two ends. That is why they are called "Suo Pillars". Entering the gate, visitors will reach al-ting. There is a stone courtyard in front of the al-ting for officials and ordinary people to worship and have activities. On the 26th day of every second month of the lunar calendar, this stone courtyard is full of people and Buddhist chants. There are altogether 86 stone pillars in the Great Buddha's Hall in Kaiyuan Temple, so the hall is also called "Hall with A Hundred Pillars". It is said that purple clouds hovered when this hall was being built. That why the Great Buddha's Hall is known as "Hall of Purple Clouds".
Among the main buildings, visitors first enter Tianwang Hall, where they will see two statues of Tianwang (King of the Sky). At the back of the hall, there is a long corridor displaying various kinds of stone towers and furnaces.
Lying behind Tianwang Hall is Daxiong Palace, the main body of Kaiyuan Temple. It is 66 feet high and covers an area of 1,196 square yards. Inside are 34 figures of the Buddha, 24 statues of angels, and 86 columns. Originally, there were 100 columns in the palace, so Daxiong Palace was also named Baizhu (one hundred poles) Palace. Viewing these works of art, visitors will be surprised at the superb techniques of sculpture. On the base of the palace 172 images of a Sphinx are carved in bluestone. In the corridor at the back of the palace, two steles in Brahmanism style are carved with fairy tales from India and Ceylon.
Coming out of Tianwang Hall, visitors will see the Sweet Dew Temple. Along with the Beijing Jietan Temple and the Hangzhou Zhaoqing Temple, it has one of the three largest altars in China. The Sweet Dew Temple has five floors and many Gods are worshiped here, such as Sakyamuni, Amitabha, and Kwan-yin.
The Sutra Depository has a collection of tens of thousands of sutra, among which are more than 20 rare and valuable ones from the Song Dynasty (960-1279). Under the depository is a showroom of ancient bells in which a dozen copper and iron bells from past dynasties are exhibited. To the west of the File Cabinet is the Hall of Virtue. The statue of the temple founder -- Buddhist Kuang Hu -- sits in the hall to greet visitors. Around the back, visitors will find two corridors about 197 feet long, pointing to east and west. From the corridors, visitors can see the Kwan-yin Cabinet, the Dizang Cabinet, the LiuZu Hall, and the Hall of the Abbot.
Most of the local people in Quanzhou believe in Buddhism. Kaiyuan Temple is a must for visitors to learn the local culture. After exploring the entire complex, visitors will surely appreciate the Buddhist culture exemplified by the Kaiyuan Temple.
Admission Fee: CNY 10
Opening Hours: 7:30-17:30
How to Get There: Bus 2, Bus 6, Bus 24, Bus 26 and Tourist Bus 601 all have a stop at Kaiyuan Temple.