Cixiu Nunnery

Cixiu Nunnery

The site of Cixiu Nunnery is located at No. 15 Zhenling Street. It is a municipal-level protected building in Shanghai. The nunnery was founded in the ninth year of the Tongzhi reign during the Qing Dynasty (1870). Originally a family nunnery of the Huang family in Shanghai, it was commonly known as the "New Nunnery" because the Huangs had another family nunnery elsewhere. During the Tongzhi era of the Qing Dynasty, it was renamed Cixiu Nunnery to welcome nun Shengyuan as the abbess. Covering an area of 1,132 square meters, it included a main hall with three bays and two wing rooms, totaling a construction area of 1,000 square meters. During the Guangxu reign of the Qing Dynasty, Shengyuan’s disciple Fugen succeeded her as abbess. By 1917, the nunnery was destroyed in a fire, with all buildings burned down and no resources available for restoration at the time. Later, under the abbacy of Fugen’s disciple Dican, thanks to the virtuous reputation of the former abbess and strong community support, the main hall with three bays and the two wing rooms were rebuilt, and an additional six-room hall for Skanda was constructed. This revitalized the nunnery’s appearance and formally established a chanting hall and a Pure Land practice center, where sincere Buddhist chants were offered daily. The nunnery also hosted visiting monastic pilgrims and fostered extensive connections.

In the late 1940s, Cixiu Nunnery invited eminent monks of the time such as Master Xingci to lecture on the Diamond Sutra, Master Yingci on the Avatamsaka Sutra’s Chapter on Samantabhadra’s Vows, Master Lingyuan on the Brahma Net Sutra, and Master Shoupéi on the Śūraṅgama Sutra. Activities such as chanting and scripture lectures flourished. In 1983, with funding from the Shanghai Municipal Religious Affairs Bureau, the nunnery was restored, resuming monastic life for nuns and launching training classes for them.

In 1984, Master Guanxing was welcomed to serve as abbess, and her enthronement ceremony was held in the spring of 1985. From the founding abbess Ziyuan to Guanxing, Cixiu Nunnery had seen six generations of leadership. After becoming abbess, Guanxing continued renovation work, which was largely completed by 1985, giving the nunnery a completely renewed appearance. The central shrine of the main hall houses the statue of Sakyamuni Buddha, founder of Buddhism, flanked by two disciples—one elderly, called Kasyapa, and one younger, called Ananda. The Goddess of Mercy (Guanyin) is enshrined to the left of Sakyamuni, with a young girl and boy attendant on either side.

Some Buddhist devotees, noting that Shanghai has a complete sangha of four groups—monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen—and especially that it is cultivating future generations of nuns, find this very rare. They have expressed interest in engaging in nuns’ exchanges abroad and in transmitting precepts.

Transportation

Address: No. 15 Zhenling Street, Huangpu District, Shanghai

Directions: Bus 66 stops at Fuyou Road Station on South Henan Road. Enter via Zhongfangbang Middle Road (near South Henan Road). As Zhenling Street is a very small road, it can be somewhat difficult to find.

Nearby attractions include Yu Garden and the Old City God Temple shopping area. You can also explore the various shops within the Old City God Temple complex, which offer a dazzling array of small goods, snacks, and pastries definitely worth trying.