Jade Buddha Temple

 Jade Buddha Temple is located in the northwest of the city proper.It has been famous for its outstanding jade Buddhas since there were enshrined over 100 years ago,hence the temple’s name.

 China is a multi-religious country and the people enjoy the freedom of religious life.All people,religious or not,have equal political rights and social status.

 Buddhism was founded by Siddhartha Gautama in ancient India in the 6th century BC and was introduced into China in 68 AD when the White Horse Temple was built in Henan Province.Buddhism developed quickly in China and many new sects were formed.Today the popular Buddhist sects in China are Chan and Jing Tu.It is estimated that there are about 13.000 temples and monasteries with 200,000 monks and nuns in China.Lay Buddhists are more numerous ,especially among the Han people,the largest ethnic groups in China.

 Jade Buddha Temple belongs to Chan sect.Among the 85 Buddha temples in Shanghai,it is one of the most illustrious ,distinguished by its two jade Buddha statues.History has it that in the late Qing Dynasty,a Chinese monk Huigen from a monastery in Mount. Putuo,Zhejiang Province went on a pilgrimage.His journey extended to Myanmar,where he had 5 jade Buddha statues carved with the donations from oversea Chinese.On his return voyage through Shanghai,he left two statues,one in the sitting position and the other reclining.A temple was completed in 1900 to enshrine the two jade Buddhas.Later,the temple was destroyed in a civil war.A new temple was built on the present site in 1918.

 Jade Buddha Temple covers an area of 1.3 hectares with over 200 rooms for different purposes.It follows the typical monastic architecture with golden yellow walls,black tiles and red lacquered doors.The main buildings along the north-south axis are the Heavenly King Hall,the Grand Hall and the abbot’s room with the jade Buddha chamber above it.In both wings are accessory buildings including the Reclining Buddha Hall and Shanghai Buddhist institute offering 3-year undergraduate and 2-year post-graduate programs.

 Just as Christians go to churches on Sundays,Buddhist believers go to temples on the 1st and 15th of every Chinese lunar month.Jade Buddha Temple receives more than one million visitors annually including a large number of pilgrims.