Qibao Temple

Qibao Temple

Qibao Temple is a cultural tourism attraction.

Qibao Temple was first built during the Tianfu era (936–946) of the Later Jin Dynasty in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. Originally named Fushou Monastery, it was located on Lubaoshan Mountain and originally served as an ancestral shrine for Lu Ji and Lu Yun from Songjiang, commonly known as Lubaosan Monastery. It was later relocated to the area around the Wusong River. During the reign of the King of Wuyue, the monastery was bestowed with a golden sutra, the Lotus Sutra, and was praised as “this is also a treasure.” Hence, it was renamed Qibao Temple. Due to damage to the temple foundation caused by the tides of the Wusong River, it was relocated three times before finally being moved to Qibao Town. In the early years of the Song Dynasty, Zhang Ze, a local resident of Qibao, donated his residence to expand the temple, and the monks, including Monk Xin, jointly rebuilt it. However, over the following centuries, the temple gradually fell into disrepair.

In the 13th year of the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty (1585), a local resident named Xu Sanzhong raised funds to rebuild the temple, with the main gate facing North Street. Later, the monk Chengye raised money to renovate the main hall and the three flower bridges: east, west, and central. At this point, the temple covered an area of over 40 acres, plus a temple river spanning about 6 acres, with over a thousand buildings of various kinds. The temple grounds included a lotus pond, bamboo grove, plum garden, and precious trees such as five-dynasty cypresses and podocarpus. Here, “people would gather during festivals, pay homage at seasonal worship ceremonies, hold meetings for public and private matters, and hear the morning and evening bells.” The “Record of the Reconstruction of Qibao Temple,” written by Wang Hui, a scholar of the Jiajing era, vividly depicted the spectacular sights of the time—the precious halls, monks’ quarters, painted sedan stone paths, and flower-dyed willow embankments. This was the most prosperous period of Qibao Temple and also led to the rapid development of Qibao Town, transforming it into a significant regional hub.

After that, Qibao Temple suffered repeated damages from wars and gradually declined. Especially between 1860 and 1862, there were several fierce battles in the Qibao area between the Taiping Army and the Qing soldiers as well as the foreign gun squad, resulting in the destruction of many historic sites. By the end of the Anti-Japanese War, only the main gate, the Lotus Surging Hall, and a catalpa tree in the courtyard remained. Starting in 1946, the site was converted into the Qibao Branch of the Private Nanyang Model Middle School.

The place later called Dasi Field or the Big Drill Ground was once the western garden area of Qibao Temple. In those days, it was shaded by lush trees and dotted with stone tablets, where many scholars and literati left poems and traces. Unfortunately, everything here was destroyed in the war. In 1946, it was rebuilt as a school playground. Since then, it has also become a venue for political gatherings in the Qibao area and for hosting local trade fairs and sports events.

Qibao Temple once had a renowned monk named Jinggong, who chanted scriptures in the temple year-round, wearing through his sitting mat and cushion. He often preached to the monks and was respectfully called “Preacher Jing.” He was skilled in poetry and authored the collection “Qing Song Ji.” During the Hongwu era of the Ming Dynasty (1368–1398), when the imperial court summoned eminent monks from across the country, Jinggong was also summoned to the capital. At that time, Yuan Kai, a retired censor from Songjiang, composed a famous poem titled “Farewell to Monk Jing of Qibao Temple on His Way to Jinling.” A surviving inscription on the temple’s bronze bell still faintly bears the characters “Ming Qibao Temple Monk… Preacher Jing,” allowing later generations to glimpse his presence back then.

Currently, only ruins such as the Lotus Surging Hall remain at the original temple site. In 2002, Qibao Temple was rebuilt to the east of Henglijing, featuring an architectural style embodying the “charm of the Han and Tang dynasties.” The reconstructed Qibao Temple is bordered by Henglijing and Puhuitang to the west and south, faces Xinzhen Road to the east, and lies just a hundred meters from the Old Street. It is divided into temple and garden sections, covering 43 acres, with a square in front of the main hall. To the east and west are the symmetrical Qibao Pagoda and the Liberation Pond, while to the south are the main gate and the Temple Bridge. After the consecration ceremony on January 23, 2003, the temple has enjoyed increasingly thriving incense offerings, presenting a magnificent scene.

Address: No. 1205, Xinzhen Road, Qibao Town, Minhang District, Shanghai

Type: Temple

Recommended visiting time: 1 hour

Phone: 021-54861957

Official website: http://www.qibaosi.com/

Ticket information:

Door price: 5.0 RMB