Mei’an Temple is a Buddhist nunnery building that retains the architectural style of the Northern Song Dynasty and is used to commemorate Huineng, the sixth patriarch of Zen Buddhism. According to legend, when Huineng, the sixth patriarch of Zen Buddhism in the Tang Dynasty, passed through Zhaoqing, he personally planted plum blossoms on Mei’an Hill. During the Northern Song Dynasty, Monk Zhiyuan built a nunnery on the spot where Huineng planted plum blossoms and named it Mei’an. Mei’an is a rare thousand-year-old ancient temple in Lingnan. It is also one of the very ancient wooden buildings in Guangdong Province and is built with great Lingnan characteristics. The entire temple is not large, and the incense is not very prosperous, so it is quite quiet. The main building currently consists of three major parts: the mountain gate, the main hall, and the patriarch hall. The mountain gate is a Qing Dynasty building with a brick-wood structure. Then, the main hall located behind the mountain gate is a very important building in Mei’an. The entire hall retains a rare simplicity. It completely retains the form and practice of the wooden structure of the Song Dynasty and has strong Lingnan characteristics. The brackets under the eaves will immediately catch your eye. This wooden structure called ‘double miao, three lower ang, seven pu zuo’ is the only known example of a wooden structure from the Northern Song Dynasty in Guangdong. There is also an exhibition hall of Huineng’s deeds at the back. Regarding the sixth patriarch Huineng, it is also a major tourist feature of Mei’an. In addition, in front of the mountain gate, there is still the well dug by Huineng back then, known as the ‘Six Patriarchs Well’. Opening hours: Open from Tuesday to Sunday throughout the year from 09:00 to 17:00; closed all day on Monday throughout the year; open from 09:00 to 21:00 during the National Day holiday. The specific opening hours are subject to the on-site announcements of the scenic spot.
Mei’an Temple
Mei’an Temple is a Buddhist nunnery building that retains the architectural style of the North[...]
