Chinese Buddhist temples: how they are laid out, and the famous ones

The layout of a Chinese Buddhist temple

China has at least 192,000 temples dedicated at least partly to Buddhist deities, by a Pew Research Center estimate. From the Song dynasty onwards, Chinese temples set their main halls one behind another on a central axis, with side halls flanking each one. This is the order a visitor usually walks through.[20][1][2][3][4][5][6]

1. 1

   Mountain gate (山门, shānmén)

   The entrance gate, named, by one explanation, for the mountains where temples were traditionally built. Where it is a gate building, two fierce guardians stand inside: one with mouth open, one with mouth closed.

2. 2

   Bell and drum towers (钟楼, 鼓楼)

   A pair, often flanking the first hall; at Lingyin the bell tower stands to the east and the drum tower to the west. The bell and drum call the monks together and mark the hours, and “morning bell, evening drum” has become a byword for Buddhist life.

3. 3

   Hall of Heavenly Kings (天王殿, Tiānwáng Diàn)

   The first hall. Facing you is Maitreya in the form of the big-bellied Laughing Buddha; the Four Heavenly Kings, armoured guardians of the four directions, line the sides; and behind Maitreya stands Weituo (Skanda), a guardian general.

4. 4

   Mahavira Hall (大雄宝殿, Dàxióng Bǎodiàn)

   The ‘Precious Hall of the Great Hero’, the main hall of most Chinese temples. It usually enshrines Shakyamuni, the historical Buddha, often flanked by his disciples Mahakashyapa and Ananda. In many temples Weituo stands facing this statue.

5. 5

   Further halls

   Larger temples add more behind or beside the main hall. Lingyin, for example, has a Hall of the Medicine Buddha, a Dharma hall and sutra library, a Hall of the Five Hundred Arhats, a dining hall and the abbot’s quarters.

Chinese temples can look alike from outside, with the same curved roofs and incense burners. The name on the gate and the figures inside give it away.[1][7][8]

Six of the best-known Chinese Buddhist temples, from the oldest by tradition to the most visited in a big city.[9][10][11][12][14][15][16][17][21]

Temple guides by city, and single temples

• By city: Temples in Beijing · Temples in Shanghai · Temples in Hangzhou · Temples in Xi’an · Temples in Chengdu · Temples in Suzhou
• Single temples: Foguang Temple, Shanxi · The Hanging Monastery · Jade Buddha Temple, Shanghai · Jing’an Temple, Shanghai · Kaiyuan Temple, Quanzhou · Lingyin Temple, Hangzhou · Longhua Temple, Shanghai · Nanputuo Temple, Xiamen · The Three Pagodas of Chongsheng Temple, Dali · Wenshu Monastery · White Horse Temple, Luoyang · Yonghe Temple (the Lama Temple), Beijing