Huazang Temple, a famous temple in Kunshan, evolved from the subsidiary courtyard of Huijiu Temple on Ma’anshan Mountain in Kunshan. It is located to the west of Cuiwei Pavilion at the southern foot of Ma’anshan Mountain. In front of the temple, there is Bosheng Bridge spanning a small stream. The buildings of the temple are all in the architectural style of the Song Dynasty, majestic and spectacular. The roof is made of golden glazed tiles. There are Heavenly King Hall, Mahavira Hall, Guanyin Hall, Ksitigarbha Hall, etc., with a large scale. Huijiu Temple was built in the tenth year of Tianjian in the Liang Dynasty (511 AD). Huixiang, a Buddhist monk from Wuxing, is the founder of this temple. Huixiang is the teacher of Emperor Wu of Liang, Xiao Yan. Emperor Wu of Liang bestowed an iron incense burner and a silk-embroidered Buddha statue, as well as two hundred mu of fields, one mountain, and a thousand branches of wood. When Huixiang first came to Kunshan, he meditated by putting down his monk’s staff and sitting in a stone chamber on the side of Ma’anshan Mountain. With two tigers as his attendants, he wanted to build a monastery but couldn’t. According to legend, that night, there was a violent storm and the forest roared. The sound of chopping wood could be heard far and near, and people were all surprised by it. At dawn the next day, the foundation of the main hall was completed, and the steps and cornerstones were laid. It was with the help of the mountain god. When it was first built, there were a main hall and a small hall. During the Xuanhe period of the Northern Song Dynasty (1119 – 1125 AD), Master Xinfa rebuilt the subsidiary courtyard of Huijiu Temple on the northeastern slope of Ma’anshan Mountain into a lecture temple for sages from all directions and renamed it ‘Huazang Lecture Temple’. In the autumn of the Wushen year of the Southern Song Dynasty (1248 AD), monk Lianggong rebuilt the Great Buddha Pavilion and named it ‘Shenyun Mahavira Hall’. In the thirteenth year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty (1380 AD), monk Daya moved ‘Huazang Lecture Temple’ from the northern foot of Ma’anshan Mountain to the top of Xishan Mountain. In the twenty-second year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty (1594 AD), monk Jimo rebuilt the mountain gate and Heavenly King Hall. In 1937, when Japan invaded China, the mountain temple was bombed and the mountain was occupied by the Japanese army. After the victory, the monks built three bungalows, which remained until the liberation in 1949. In June 1992, the Kunshan Municipal People’s Government approved the reconstruction of Huazang Temple, covering an area of five mu. In August 1997, Huazang Temple was relocated and rebuilt again to the south of Ma’anshan Mountain, to the north of Ma’anshan Road, and to the east of the west gate of Tinglin Park, with a construction area of 3,000 square meters. In October 2001, Huazang Temple was completed. Opening hours: Open all year round from 8:00 to 17:00.
Huazang Temple
Huazang Temple, a famous temple in Kunshan, evolved from the subsidiary courtyard of Huijiu Temple o[...]
