The Jade Buddha Temple (Yufosi) of Shanghai is an active one, with 70 resident monks at last count. It was built from 1911 - 1918; the exterior is readily identifiable by the bright saffron walls. Inside, the centerpiece is a 1.9 meter high white jade Buddha (some say it's alabaster) brought back by a monk from Burma to Zhejiang Province in 1882 and finding its final resting spot here.
This seated Buddha, encrusted with jewels, is said to weigh 1000 kg. It portrays the Buddha at the moment of his meditation and enlightenment. A smaller(0.96 meter), reclining Buddha, from the same shipment, lies on a redwood bed with the right hand supporting the head and the left hand placing on the left leg - suspiciously adopting the reclining pose of an opium smoker? No, this pose is called the 'lucky rest'.
The solemn face shows the peaceful mood of Sakyamuni when he left the earthliness.
In the large hall are three gold-plated Buddhas, and other halls house ferocious looking deities. Artifacts abound, not all on display, and some 7,000 Buddhist sutras line the walls. Should your timing coincide, there may be a ceremony of some description in progress. Also in the precincts is a vegetarian restaurant, and a branch of the Antique & Curio Store that sells miniature sandalwood drums and gongs, replicas of the larger ones used in ceremonies. Furthermore there are many ancient paintings and Buddhist scriptures distributed in the different halls of the temple.
The fact is that Shanghai, being so young, has almost no temples to show off. But the Jade Buddha Temple is an exception. Its old-time and classical buildings make the temple unique and inimitable in this metropolis. The Chamber of Four Heavenly Kings, the Grand Hall (also called the Great Hall) and the Jade Buddha Chamber constitute the main structure of the temple and at sides are the Avalokiteshvara Hall (Kwan-yin Hall), the Amitabha Hall, the Zen Tang Hall, the public restaurants, and the Recumbent Buddha Hall.
There is a visitor services office adjacent to the southern entrance, and a Buddhist library is also on the premises. These buildings are all with very strong Song Dynasty architectural style.
The temple also contains a private restaurant for the use of monks and temple volunteers, which serves all kinds of famous vegetable dishes, dim sum and noodles. Such as the 'Vegetable Ham', 'Grilled Vegetable Chicken', 'Vegetable Roast Duck', 'Meat Emulsion with Pine Nut','Rose and peony', 'Date Paste and Fall Leaves', 'Flaky Apples' 'Fruits and Walnuts', 'Noodles with Chili Soy Bean Paste', 'Buddist Arhat Serves the Vegetable Noodles', 'Wheat Gluten with Mushroom' .
..they all made of different vegetable and fruits. The food of the Jade Buddha Temple is very popular with tourists from all over the world.
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