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About Donglin Temple (Jiangxi)
The present complex includes a main Buddha hall and smaller commemorative spaces set among wooded slopes. Huxi, the stream at the temple approach, is tied to the much-retold “Three Laughs” story. Treat that story as a cultural tradition, and distinguish this ancestral monastery from the separate modern Donglin Great Buddha site.
Donglin Temple was founded in 384 CE by Huiyuan (慧远), who established the Pure Land school there; it was originally built as Longquan Jingshe (龙泉精舍). The scholar Xie Lingyun (谢灵运), who admired Huiyuan, had two ponds dug within the temple and planted them with white lotus. In 1136, Yue Fei (岳飞) mourned his mother at the temple. The temple was destroyed by Zuo Liangyu's troops in 1645 and again by Taiping forces in 1853; it was damaged again during the Cultural Revolution and put to other uses, before being listed as a Jiangxi provincial protected cultural site and restored in 1978.
The temple faces Incense Burner Peak (香炉峰) and is surrounded by mountains, with Huxi Bridge (虎溪桥) at its entrance. Huiyuan organised the White Lotus Society (白莲社) there, a community that gathered 123 Chinese and foreign monks and scholars, and Indian monks Tanmoti (昙摩提) and Sengjia Tipo (僧加提婆) also preached at the temple during this period.
The temple has also invested in building the Donglin Great Buddha (东林大佛), a 48-metre bronze statue of Amitabha (阿弥陀佛) at the foot of Mount Lu, approved for construction in 2000 and completed at the end of 2012; it is described as the tallest bronze Amitabha statue in existence.
What to look for
- The main Buddha hall in the wooded ancestral monastery.
- The Huxi stream-and-bridge setting associated with the Three Laughs tradition.
Background & history
Donglin Temple (simplified Chinese: 东林寺; traditional Chinese: 東林寺; pinyin: Dōnglín sì; lit. 'Eastern Forest Temple') is a Buddhist temple approximately 20 kilometres (12 mi) from Jiujiang, in the north of Jiangxi province, China. Built in 386 CE at the foot of Mount Lu by Huiyuan, founder of the Pure Land Buddhism, it is well known for how long it has stood without collapsing. In the Tang dynasty, Jianzhen made several trips to Japan for the mission of preaching Buddhism. As a result, Huiyuan and the doctrine of Donglin Temple began to spread in Japan. Donglin Temple made contributions to improve cultural exchanges and friendly visits between China and Nepal, India, Japan. The monastery reached its peak of influence during the Tang dynasty (618–907 CE), but was severely damaged during the Taiping Rebellion and was almost destroyed during the Republican period (1912–1949) of Chinese history.
Excerpt from Wikipedia: Donglin Temple (Jiujiang) · Wikipedia contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected introductory sentences; formatting simplified. Background information, not current visitor-service advice.
Location & getting there
Getting to Donglin Temple (Jiangxi)
Use Donglin Temple in Donglin village, Saiyang Town, Lianxi District, at the northwestern foot of Lushan. Specify the ancestral temple when arranging transport; the Donglin Great Buddha complex is a separate destination.
Combine your visit
A suggested sequence linking the specific features of this visit.
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Huxi approach
Begin with the stream setting behind the temple’s best-known literary story.
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Main Buddha hall
Continue into the principal worship space of the ancestral monastery.
This order is editorial. Confirm access and any transfers between stops; it does not establish a walking route, same-day connection or common admission ticket.
Find Donglin Temple (Jiangxi)
东林寺 · 九江市
The pin marks the area, not the entrance.
More places nearby
Approximate straight-line distances between map pins, not travel distances.
Lushan 庐山
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View guide →Sources & visit information
The sources below support the place-specific description and arrival information. Suggested combinations are editorial planning ideas; confirm current opening, entry arrangements and transport services for your date.
- en.wikipedia.org ↗
- ygx.sxu.edu.cn ↗
- ditu.amap.com ↗
- www.fjdh.cn ↗
- Donglin Temple (Jiujiang) ↗
- Chinese Wikipedia: 东林寺 (revision 87802304, 2025-06-17) ↗
- English Wikipedia: Donglin Temple (Jiujiang) (revision 1366914506, 2026-07-30) ↗
Visitor information adapted and edited from Wikipedia contributors, “Donglin Temple (Jiujiang)” · CC BY-SA 4.0. Source revision 1366914506.
Background paragraphs translated and condensed from Wikipedia contributors, "东林寺", Chinese Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0. Source revision 87802304.
Background paragraphs condensed from Wikipedia contributors, "Donglin Temple (Jiujiang)", English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0. Source revision 1366914506.