PLACE GUIDE

Guoqing Temple 国清寺

Guoqing Si

Guoqing Temple stands at the foot of Tiantai Mountain and is closely associated with the Tiantai Buddhist tradition and its Japanese Tendai connections.

A hall at Guoqing Temple on Tiantai Mountain · 国清寺
A hall at Guoqing Temple on Tiantai Mountain · 国清寺 Photograph date recorded by the source: 27 December 2014, 12:36:36. · Siyuwj · CC BY-SA 4.0
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Full frame retained; proportionally resized and converted to WebP. No retouching or changes to the photographed subject. Card displays may crop the view.

Explore the region

Zhejiang · 浙江省 →Taizhou · 台州市 →

About Guoqing Temple

Its present halls reflect repeated rebuilding and restoration, while the Sui pagoda outside gives the hillside a separate historic landmark. The main Buddha hall and arhat spaces create a sequence of devotional interiors within the wooded compound. Follow the public temple route and compare the hall arrangement with the pagoda setting; the oldest foundation date does not date every surviving building.

The temple was founded in 598 in accordance with the wishes of the teacher Zhiyi (智者大师). In 804, the Japanese monk Saicho (最澄) came to study Tiantai teachings here, returning to Japan the following year to establish the Tendai school. The surviving main buildings date to an imperially ordered rebuilding in 1734, giving the present complex a different construction date from its foundation.

The Mahavira Hall (大雄宝殿) contains a seated copper Buddha from the Ming dynasty and eighteen seated arhats carved from nanmu wood during the Yuan dynasty. Its double-eaved roof contrasts with the single-eaved roofs of other halls. The monastery occupies 73,000 square metres and became a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level (全国重点文物保护单位) in 2001.

What to look for

  • The main Buddha hall and arhat spaces reveal the temple’s devotional arrangement.
  • The Sui pagoda stands separately on the hillside beyond the main compound.

Background & history

The Guoqing Temple (simplified Chinese: 国清寺; traditional Chinese: 國清寺; pinyin: Guóqīng sì; Wade–Giles: Kuo-ch'ing Ssu, "Monastery of National Purity") is a Buddhist temple on Mount Tiantai, in Taizhou, Zhejiang Province, China. Originally built in 598 CE during the Sui dynasty, and renovated during the reign of the Qing Yongzheng Emperor (r. 1722–1735), the temple is located roughly 220 kilometres (140 mi) from the city of Hangzhou. It was the initial site for the creation of the Tiantai school of Mahāyāna Buddhism, founded by the Chinese Buddhist teacher Zhiyi (538–597 CE). The temple covers an area of some 23,000 m2 (250,000 sq ft) and features 600 rooms in a total of 14 different halls, including the Mahavira Hall of Sakyamuni, the Hall of Five Hundred Arhats and the Hall of Monk Jigong. The exterior of the building features Chinese pagodas such as the Sui Pagoda, the Seven Buddha Pagoda, and the Memorial Pagoda of Monk Yi Xing (683–727 CE).

Excerpt from Wikipedia: Guoqing Temple · Wikipedia contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected introductory sentences; formatting simplified. Background information, not current visitor-service advice.

Location & getting there

Getting to Guoqing Temple

Approach the Guoqing scenic area at the foot of Tiantai Mountain, north of Tiantai’s county town, and continue from the public temple approach into the compound.

General visit reminders

Choose the building, exhibition or part of the historic area you most want to see, then leave time to explore its setting. Check the venue’s current opening and reservation arrangements directly; a place appearing on the map does not mean every building or gallery is accessible on your travel date.

Combine your visit

A suggested sequence linking the specific features of this visit.

  1. Entrance and main Buddha hall

    Begin with the temple’s central devotional axis.

  2. Arhat spaces

    Compare the main hall with the arrangements of attendant figures.

  3. Sui pagoda viewpoint

    Finish by relating the temple to the separate hillside landmark from an authorized public route.

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.

Historic sites & architecture · 历史古迹／建筑 →

Find Guoqing Temple

国清寺 · 台州市

Amap · 高德地图Approximate pin · 近似位置Apple Maps · 苹果地图

The pin marks the area, not the entrance.

More places nearby

Approximate straight-line distances between map pins, not travel distances.

Tiantai Mountain 天台山

Less than 1 km away

Tiantai Mountain combines Buddhist pilgrimage sites with forested ridges and waterfalls across several separate scenic areas. Guoqing Temple provides the historical focus for the Tiantai Buddhist tradition, while Shiliang’s…

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Taizhou Prefecture City Wall 台州府城墙

38 km away

The Taizhou Prefecture City Wall surrounds the historic core of Linhai, rather than modern central Taizhou at Jiaojiang. Its hillside and riverside sections served different purposes: the northern line follows the ridge, while…

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Xuedou Mountain 雪窦山

54 km away

An 800-metre Fenghua peak with Xuedou Temple, a 33-metre bronze Maitreya, the Qianzhangyan waterfall and Chiang Kai-shek's villa.

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.

Visitor information adapted and edited from Wikipedia contributors, “Guoqing Temple” · CC BY-SA 4.0. Source revision 1367525249.

Visitor information adapted and edited from Wikivoyage contributors, listing “Guoqing Temple” · CC BY-SA 4.0.

Background paragraphs translated and condensed from Wikipedia contributors, "國清寺", Chinese Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0. Source revision 91067127.

Background paragraphs condensed from Wikipedia contributors, "Guoqing Temple", English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0. Source revision 1367525249.

China Revealed · Editorially updated 2026-10-07