Ciyun Temple 慈云寺

About Ciyun Temple

Its succession of Buddhist halls includes the Heavenly Kings Hall, Mahavira Hall and shrines devoted to Guanyin, Manjushri and Samantabhadra. Groups of arhat figures add smaller details to the main religious images. Move from the entrance towards the principal hall, then compare one of the subsidiary halls; this reveals the temple’s varied devotional spaces without treating it as a single facade.

The original temple on the site dates back to the Tang dynasty (618-907). The present temple was founded in 1757, during the Qianlong era of the Qing dynasty, and was first called the Temple of Guanyin (观音庙). It was enlarged in 1927 by the Chan master Yunyan (云岩) and later took the name Ciyun Temple. It was designated a National Key Buddhist Temple in Han Chinese Area by the State Council in 1983, and the whole temple complex underwent a modern restoration in April 2016.

Most of the temple's halls and rooms still keep the architectural style of the Tang dynasty. Its main hall, the Mahavira Hall, enshrines a jade statue of Sakyamuni 1.87 metres high and weighing 1,500 kilograms, bought from Myanmar in 1931; it is one of the four largest jade statues of Sakyamuni in China.

What to look for

• The Mahavira Hall provides the principal architectural and devotional focus.
• The Guanyin, Manjushri and Samantabhadra halls present distinct groups of Buddhist images.

Location & getting there

Getting to Ciyun Temple

Approach from Nanbin Road near Xuantanmiao, then follow the temple entrance at the foot of Lion Hill in Nan’an district.