Baipu Fabao Chan Temple

Baipu Fabao Chan Temple

Baipu Fabao Chan Temple is a national AAA-level tourist attraction and a cultural heritage site.

Fabao Chan Temple is located in Baipu Town, Rugao City, Nantong, Jiangsu Province. Originally named Shengjiao Temple, it was first built in the fourth year of the Tang Dynasty's Taihe era (830 AD) and rebuilt in the first year of the Song Dynasty's Zhihe era (1054 AD). It was listed as one of the "Eight Great Monasteries of Weiyang." The Qing Dynasty painter and calligrapher Zheng Banqiao, one of the "Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou," inscribed the plaque for the scripture depository, and the temple enjoyed great popularity. It is said that Japanese Tang Dynasty monk Ennin, Southern Song Dynasty anti-Jin hero Yue Fei, Southern Song Dynasty Chancellor Wen Tianxiang, Qing Dynasty Grand Censor Shen Qi, poet Yuan Mei, and others all visited and composed poems about Fabao Temple. Legend has it that during the temple’s foundation, a white turtle was unearthed from underground and presented to the imperial court, leading the emperor to bestow the name “Fabao Chan Temple.”

Fabao Chan Temple features a unique architectural style rarely seen in other temples. The layout of the entire temple resembles the shape of an elephant, with the two sides of the elephant’s trunk forming the “elephant ears.” In the spring of 2003, two large release ponds were dug, covering an area of approximately 1,200 square meters. The ponds are home to shrimp, turtles, soft-shelled turtles, and fish, while hundreds of vibrant peonies, tree peonies, and roses are planted around them. In the center of the pond stands the “Zhaoxin Pavilion,” connected to the shore by a winding bridge, making it a pleasant spot for visitors and worshippers to cool off in the summer. To the east of the release ponds stands a stone arch bridge in the Zhaozhou style, named the “Wan’an Bridge,” which is a miniature replica of the ancient Wan’an Bridge in Baipu Town. The bridge railing is engraved with the Ten Scenes of Putang and verses by famous poets. At both ends of the bridge are placed a pair of stone lions from the original Wan’an Bridge, and the stone pillars are inscribed with timeless Chinese maxims — “May Heaven always bless good people, may people always do good deeds” — which serve as moral guidance even in today’s world.

In the second half of 1949, the Rudong County People's Congress, aiming to improve the backward state of secondary education in the Baipu area, decided to establish a middle school in Baipu Town, naming it “Baipu Branch of Northern Jiangsu Rudong Middle School.” The school was located at No. 56 Shihel Road, Baipu Town — the former site of the dilapidated Fabao Chan Temple and Chenghuang Temple before liberation.

The remaining structures of the old temple included one Mahavira Hall, one scripture depository, three dining rooms, one Chenghuang Temple hall, and three rooms for the Goddess, covering an area of over twenty acres, most of which were in severe disrepair. This school later became Jiangsu Baipu High School, which is now a four-star high school in Jiangsu Province and a national model high school.

In August 1998, the ancient halls were relocated from Puzhong to the east side of the road in the northwest development zone of the town. After years of arduous relocation and reconstruction, the main structure of the temple was fully completed. A stone memorial archway over ten meters high stands at the front of the temple, atop the “trunk” of the “elephant-shaped” layout. On the front and back of the archway are eight bold and powerful characters: “Fabao Chan Temple” and “Repentance Leads to Salvation.” Under the sunlight, they shine brilliantly and catch the eye.

Baipu Town: In 2013, Linzi Town and Baipu Town were abolished, and their jurisdictions were merged to form a new Baipu Town, with the town government located at No. 1 Pusheng Road, Songyang Community, the former Baipu Town.

Direct access to Beijing and Guangzhou. Baipu is only 30 kilometers from the Nantong Port and Rugao Port, both national first-class open ports, connecting major ports along the Yangtze River and facilitating global maritime access. The Tongyang Canal (Nantong–Yangzhou) runs through the center of the town, and it is planned to be upgraded to a third-class waterway by 2010. This integrated transportation network of river-sea-land and air creates a multidimensional transport system that supports the industrial... Detailed information about Baipu Town++