Yuquan Temple 当阳玉泉寺

About Yuquan Temple

Its principal halls give the visit an active religious setting, while the nearby Song-period iron pagoda shows metal cast in the forms of a timber tower. The pagoda’s thirteen-tier silhouette and surviving inscriptions make it a separate architectural focus. Conservation completed a major stage in late 2025; check the currently accessible viewing area and avoid treating the pagoda as a climbable tower.

A temple on Fuchuan Mountain (覆船山) was commissioned in 528 by Emperor Wu of Liang (梁武帝). In 593 the monk Zhiyi (智顗) built a temple here on imperial order; after seeing a spring below the mountain as clear as pearls, he renamed the site Yuquan, and Prince Yang Guang (杨广) bestowed the name Yuquan Temple. In 678 the monk Shenxiu (神秀) taught Chan Buddhism here, and in 1021 an empress dowager commissioned the building of Yuquan Temple, with later repairs in the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties.

The halls have flying eaves, bracket sets and colourful paintings. A Sui-period iron cauldron weighing 1,500 kilograms stands before the main hall, along with a Yuan-period iron pot and bell, and a stone-carved image of Guanyin attributed to the Tang painter Wu Daozi (吴道子). Old cypress, ginkgo and bay laurel (月桂) trees grow in the grounds, and a spring runs in front of the temple.

Yuquan Temple is a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level (全国重点文物保护单位) and a National Key Buddhist Temple in Han Chinese Area (汉族地区佛教全国重点寺院). The Yuquan Iron Pagoda (玉泉铁塔), cast in the Northern Song dynasty of pig iron, was listed as a Hubei provincial protection unit in 1956 together with the temple, and both were listed nationally in 1982 as 'Yuquan Temple and Iron Pagoda'.

What to look for

• The Buddhist hall-and-hillside setting connected with Tiantai teaching.
• The Song iron pagoda’s tiered form and cast architectural detail.

The surrounding area

A base for the Three Gorges landscape and Three-Gorges Tribe; confirm the actual boat boarding point and transfer.

Location & getting there

Getting to Yuquan Temple

Arrange a road transfer to Yuquan Temple in Yuquan Village, west of Dangyang. Confirm a return pickup at the temple visitor approach; this rural stop is separate from central Yichang and from other temples named Yuquan.