Fuhu Temple 伏虎寺

About Fuhu Temple

The halls follow a ceremonial sequence through the wooded site, while the Huayan bronze pagoda is a distinctive object to look for when its display is accessible. The present complex reflects rebuilding across different periods, so the most useful visit combines close attention to the buildings with the shaded approach rather than a single founding-date story.

Fuhu Temple, also known as Fuhu Chan Cloister, Shenlong Hall (神龙堂) and Huxi Jingshe (虎溪精舍), was first built in the Tang dynasty and expanded during the Song dynasty. It was destroyed at the start of the Qing dynasty, around 1644, and rebuilt over about twenty years beginning in 1651 (the eighth year of the Shunzhi reign), when it was renamed Huxi Jingshe. Because of tiger incidents near the temple afterward, its monks built a dharani pillar to ward them off and renamed it Fuhu Temple ('Subdue-Tiger Temple'); the Kangxi Emperor later wrote the calligraphy 'Ligou Yuan' (离垢园) for it.

The temple stands at the confluence of the Yoga River (瑜伽河) and Tiger Creek (虎溪) in the foothills of Mount Emei. Built in the traditional Han Chinese style, it now has thirteen halls covering about 20,000 square meters, arranged along a central axis that includes the Shanmen, Mahavira Hall and the Hall of Five Hundred Arhats (五百罗汉堂), together with meditation rooms and monks' quarters. It has been a Provincial-Level Protected Cultural Relic of Sichuan Province since 2002 and a Nationally Protected Key Cultural Site of China since 2006.

What to look for

• The Huayan bronze pagoda and its Buddhist imagery, when the display is accessible.
• The sequence of halls in a wooded foothill setting near Baoguo Temple.

Location & getting there

Getting to Fuhu Temple

Start in the Baoguo Temple visitor area and follow the signed approach towards Fuhu Temple. This lower-mountain visit is separate from the long visitor-bus ride to Leidongping.