Qinglong Pagoda and Qinglong Temple

Qinglong Pagoda and Qinglong Temple

Qinglong Pagoda and Qinglong Temple are national AA-level tourist attractions and cultural heritage sites.

Qinglong Pagoda and Qinglong Temple are located in Qinglong Village, Baihe (formerly known as Qingpu Town). The temple was built in the second year of the Tianbao era of the Tang Dynasty (743 AD), originally named Baode Temple, and was renamed Longfu Temple during the Song Dynasty. In the fifty-fourth year of the Kangxi Emperor’s reign (1715 AD), during his southern tour, the emperor passed through Qinglong, personally inscribed the plaque “Exquisite and Auspicious Longevity” and bestowed the temple name “Jiyun Chan Temple.” He also granted a crystal Guanyin statue, a lotus-patterned golden-splashed fan, and a apricot-yellow kasaya, collectively referred to as the “Three Treasures.” According to the “Qingpu County Annals” published during the Guangxu era, Qinglong Temple covered an area of over 60 mu, with more than 450 mu of temple fields. The architecture was magnificent, featuring structures such as the Mahavira Hall, Kṣitigarbha Hall, Skanda Hall, meditation hall, dining hall, Yixiu Hall, QieXie Hall, Wenjue Hall, Chenghuai Hall, abbot’s quarters, east and west corridors, Incense Kitchen, storerooms, and the Universal Pagoda. The sounds of bells and drums never ceased, and Buddhist chants echoed through the night, earning it the reputation of “the foremost Buddhist site under heaven.” In the third year of the Jiaqing Emperor’s reign (1798 AD), a fire broke out, reducing the grand halls and pavilions to ruins. In the early years of the Daoguang Emperor’s reign, monks rebuilt some of the temple buildings. In the tenth year of the Xianfeng Emperor’s reign (1860 AD), the temple suffered further destruction during wartime, with most of its structures severely damaged. In the 25th year of the Republic of China (1936 AD), the monks raised funds to rebuild the Guanyin Pavilion and installed a large bell, both of which no longer exist today. Only two stone steles remain: the Record of the Reconstruction of Qinglong Longfu Temple and the Imperial Inscription for the Rebuilding of the Mahavira Hall of Jiyun Chan Temple.

Qinglong Pagoda was built during the Changqing era of the Tang Dynasty (821 to 824 AD). Originally named Longfu Temple Pagoda and also known as Qinglong Wild Goose Pagoda, it is commonly called Qinglong Pagoda and is the oldest ancient pagoda in Shanghai. In its heyday, Qinglong Town was Shanghai’s largest trading port, and Qinglong Pagoda was the town’s iconic structure, bearing witness to the prosperity of Shanghai’s commerce at the time. The pagoda was originally seven stories high with an octagonal shape and a brick-and-wood structure. It was later damaged by war and fire, and now only the Song Dynasty-era body of the pagoda remains, standing at over 30 meters in height. The temple and pagoda were renovated during the Kangding and Qingli eras of the Song Dynasty. In the third year of the Yuandade era (1299 AD), the first year of the Zhihe era (1308 AD), and the third year of the Zhizheng era (1343 AD), Ren Renfa, a renowned painter and water conservancy expert from Qingpu, along with his son Ren Xiande and grandson Ren Shizhi—three generations of the family—successively funded the restoration of the pagoda. In the seventeenth year of the Ming Chongzhen era (1644 AD), a local resident named Zhu Mingjing repaired the pagoda. In the fifth year of the Qing Shunzhi era (1648 AD), a monk named Baiyu renovated it anew. When the Kangxi Emperor toured the south, he bestowed the name “Jiyun Chan Temple Pagoda.” Over time, the pagoda fell into disrepair, with stairs destroyed, eaves missing, and the structure leaning precariously. In 1956, the bronze gourd atop the pagoda was blown off by a typhoon, bearing the inscription “Seventeenth Year of the Chongzhen Era,” and is now housed in the Qingpu District Museum. In 1992, the pagoda had tilted 1.56 meters off center, prompting the Shanghai Municipal Cultural Relics Management Committee to invite the renowned structural correction expert Professor Cao Shizhong to restore its balance. The temple and pagoda were respectively designated as county-level and municipal-level cultural relics protection units in 1959 and 1960.