Jade Buddha Temple

Jade Buddha Temple

The Jade Buddha Temple is a cultural tourism attraction.

The Jade Buddha Temple is located at the intersection of Anyuan Road and Jiangning Road in Putuo District, Shanghai. Its original site was in Jiangwan Town. In the eighth year of the Guangxu reign during the Qing Dynasty (1882), Master Huigen from Mount Putuo traveled through Mount Wutai and Mount Emei, entered Tibet, went to India to worship the Buddha, then passed through Myanmar. With the support of local overseas Chinese, he quarried jade, carved five jade Buddhas, and brought them back to Mount Putuo.

The Jade Buddha Temple is not only a renowned temple in Shanghai but also a well-known Buddhist site both in China and abroad. As one of the top ten tourist attractions in Shanghai, it enjoys a peaceful atmosphere amidst the bustling urban area, often described as an oasis in the city. The temple has a history of 120 years since its founding and has had eleven abbots in total. The first abbot, Master Huigen, brought back five jade Buddha statues of various sizes from Myanmar in 1882, leaving two in Shanghai for devotees to worship. Initially, he built a simple hut at Zhanghuabang in Shanghai, and later constructed a temple near Jiangwan Railway Station in the suburbs of Shanghai to enshrine the jade Buddhas. After Master Huigen’s passing, Masters Benzhao and others succeeded him as abbots. Following the passing of that abbot, Master Kecheng took over. Starting in 1918, he built a new temple on Bīnláng Road (now Anyuan Road), which took ten years to complete—this is now the location of the southern courtyard of the Jade Buddha Temple. Because Master Kecheng carried on the Linji school of Chan Buddhism, the temple was named “Jade Buddha Chan Temple.” Master Kecheng devoted great effort to building the new temple and was hailed as the reviver of the Jade Buddha Temple. After his passing, the abbacy was held successively by Masters Yuanchen, Zhenhua, Zhifang, Wei Yi, and Weifang. Among them, Master Zhenhua founded the Shanghai Buddhist College within the temple, nurturing a group of monastic talents. He also established a library and the Hongyi Master Memorial Association in the temple, and published the journal “Miaojue,” vigorously promoting Buddhist culture. In 1945, to commemorate the martyrs who died in the “December 1st Incident” in Kunming, a grand public memorial service was held at the Jade Buddha Temple. The main officiating group consisted of seven people, including Soong Ching-ling. A mass gathering was held after the service, making a significant impact.

Location

No. 170, Anyuan Road, Putuo District, Shanghai