Qutan Temple 瞿昙寺

About Qutan Temple

The scale of Longguo Hall and the sequence of courts show a strong relationship with Chinese palace and temple architecture. The surrounding mountains and Qutan River give the compound a more enclosed setting than the open plateau monasteries. Follow the main court sequence and look closely at the timber structure and decorated surfaces in areas open to visitors.

The temple was founded in 1392 (the twenty-fifth year of the Hongwu era), when the monk Sanluo Lama Sandan Luozhui (三罗喇嘛三丹罗追) built a small chapel and sought recognition from the Ming court. In 1393 the Ming founder Zhu Yuanzhang (朱元璋) named it Qutan Temple and made Sandan Luozhui head of the Xining Buddhist registry. Four Ming emperors issued seven edicts and sent eunuchs to direct craftsmen who completed the complex over 36 years, expanding the senior monks' religious and economic privileges under the Yongle, Hongxi and Xuande emperors.

The temple stands within a square earthen enclosure called the 'New City' (新城); the temple's 1.5-hectare footprint, two-thirds of the enclosure, has a built area of about 10,000 square metres, arranged in front, middle and back courtyards facing southeast. The main axis holds Qutan Hall (瞿昙寺殿), built in 1392 and rebuilt in 1782; four corner stupas, the oldest called the Tara Stupa (度母塔); and Longguo Hall (隆国殿), modeled on the Hall of Supreme Harmony in Beijing's Forbidden City, completed in 1427 as the complex's tallest building at about 900 square metres.

A mural corridor known as the 'seventy-two chambers' (七十二间走水厅) holds murals of about 400 square metres depicting Buddhist legends. The temple also keeps a Ming-dynasty bilingual Chinese-Tibetan imperial stele, ten Ming and Qing plaques, and a bronze bell cast in 1427.

What to look for

• Longguo Hall is a principal monument of the Ming-period complex.
• Successive courtyards reveal the temple’s formal layout.
• The valley setting connects the buildings with the Qutan River and surrounding hills.

Location & getting there

Getting to Qutan Temple

The temple is in Qutan town, south of Ledu District’s urban centre in Haidong. Arrange the onward road journey from Ledu to the temple entrance and confirm the return connection before entering.