Faxing Temple 法兴寺

About Faxing Temple

The temple was relocated from its former mountain site because mining-related ground movement threatened the buildings. This makes it important to distinguish the age of the monuments from their present setting on Cuiyun Mountain. The main axis provides a compact, coherent architectural visit.

Faxing Temple was first built during the Later Liang under the name Cilin Temple (慈林寺). It was renamed Guangde Temple (广德寺) during the Tang dynasty and took its present name in the Zhiping era (治平) of the Northern Song. The temple originally stood on Cilin Mountain (慈林山) but was relocated to its current site on Cuiyun Mountain (翠云山) after mining-related ground subsidence threatened the buildings.

On its south-facing central axis stand the mountain gate, a stone relic pagoda (舍利塔), a lamp tower (燃灯塔), Yuanjue Hall (圆觉殿) and a Bodhisattva hall, with subsidiary halls to either side. The relic pagoda is a square stone structure from the Tang dynasty, 8.8 meters to a side and 10.7 meters tall, built entirely of sandstone with a square 'hui'-shaped (回) plan and corbelled eaves.

Yuanjue Hall was built in 1080, during the Northern Song, with three bays across the front, a six-rafter depth and a single-eave xieshan roof, and contains nineteen painted sculptures from the Song dynasty. A stone lamp tower stands before the hall, an octagonal structure 2.6 meters tall, one of six traditional Buddhist ceremonial offerings. The temple was listed as a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level (全国重点文物保护单位) in 1988.

What to look for

• The square stone relic pagoda and the smaller, finely carved octagonal Randeng lamp tower.
• Yuanjue Hall and its Song-period painted Buddhist figures.

Location & getting there

Getting to Faxing Temple

Go to Cuiyun Mountain at Cuizhuang Village, Cilin Town, Changzi County. This is the relocated Faxing Temple; do not navigate to the former Cilin Mountain site.