Jade Buddha Temple　玉佛寺

Jade Buddha Temple, located in Anyuan Road near Jiangning Road in Putuo District, is one of the famous temples in Shanghai.

The temple is so named because the Jade Buddha is enshrined here. During the reign of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty, Monk Huigen from the Putuo Mountain of Zhejiang Province traveled all over the country. He travelled from Xizang through India and ended up in Burma. With the support and donation by the overseas Chinese, Monk Huigen exploited the mountains to get jade. He invited expert sculptors of Xizang that carefully sculpted five jade statues of Buddha. In the eighth year (1882) of Emperor Guangxu, Monk Huigen escorted the jade statues of Buddha back home. On his way, he left two statues in Shanghai. Because of social instability, the jade statues moved to different places three times. And finally in 1918, a piece of land, 11 mu in size, was raised in the Sheng's ancestral hall for the construction of the temple. The construction lasted 10 years.

The temple, consisting of three rows of grand and magnificent halls, is built based on a typical palace from the Song Dynasty. At the center of the temple is the Grand Hall, where three statues of Buddha are enshrined and worshipped: Sakyamuni Buddha in the middle, Bhaisajyaguru or Medicine Buddha on the left, and Amitabha Buddha on the right. They are all about 4 meters tall and gilded. Sitting on the 2-meter-tall 6-sided lotus platform, they look quite imposing and overwhelming. The inverted well-like ceiling is sculptured with nine dragons, and the hall has a colorful gate and ever-shining lamps. 20 gilded statues of guardian gods are standing on both sides. Right behind the Buddha is a group of figure sculptures in Buddhism and Chinese legends. The east and west external walls are inlaid with engraved images of 16 arhats on stones, which were copied from the pictures drawn by Monk Guanxiu of the Five Dynasties Period and now housed in Shengyin Temple in Hangzhou. They are the closest to the actual images of the arhats. The floor above the Abbot's Room is the Jade Buddha Chamber, in which the Jade Buddha of Sakyamuni is enshrined and worshipped. The statue was meticulously carved out of a single piece of jade by Monk Huigen, and it is 1.92 meters in height, 1.34 meters in width, and approximately 1 ton in weight. The Jade Buddha looks peerlessly solemn. It is attired with a jiasha that has gold hems mounted with diamonds. The Buddha has part of his right shoulder bare, and on his right arm he is wearing gold bracelets mounted with emeralds, gems, and agates. The Jade Buddha, which was made with superb craftsmanship, bears a solemn and majestic appearance. On the east and west sides of the Jade Buddha are twelve huge cabinets, in which are stored the whole set of Buddhist Sutra, altogether 7,168 volumes in 718 cases. Because the set was engraved and printed during the reigns of Emperors Yongzheng and Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty, it is generally referred to as Dragon Sutra. The other Jade Buddha Monk Huigen left behind is in the image of Nirvana. It is 0.96 m tall. It was carved out of a single piece of jade, and now it is enshrined and worshipped in the Reclining Buddha Hall.

Address: No.170, Anyuan Road

Tel.: 021- 62663668

Open Hours: 8:00 - 17:00