Rugao Dinghui Temple

Rugao Dinghui Temple

Rugao Dinghui Temple is a national AAA-level tourist attraction and a Jiangsu Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The restored Dinghui Chan Temple features a horizontal plaque inscribed with four raised golden characters reading "Dinghui Chan Temple" in regular script, flanked by a pair of stone lions at the mountain gate. Entering the gate leads to the Vajra Hall, where a big-bellied Maitreya Buddha sits in the center, with the famous couplet on either side reading: "Opening the mouth in laughter, laughing at the past and present, taking everything with a smile; a belly so big it can contain heaven and earth, embracing all without exception." On the east and west sides of the Vajra Hall are newly crafted statues of the Four Heavenly Kings. Facing south, opposite the Maitreya Buddha, stands the Wei Tuo Bodhisattva, holding a vajra and with raised brows. In the middle of the courtyard stands a towering incense burner over ten feet high. Passing through the courtyard, you’ll find the resplendent Mahavira Hall. The hall is over ten meters tall, and at the center of the back wall is a newly installed "Ultimate Bliss Guide," standing two meters high, adding to the hall’s majestic and grand appearance. Inside the hall, a newly crafted Buddha statue over sixteen feet tall sits serenely on a lotus throne, radiating light, surrounded by countless Buddha figures of various forms and graceful postures. Above are the deities of Incense and Flowers; to the side are the Brahma King and Indra; the eighteen Arhats on the east and west sides are vividly lifelike; the Twelve Enlightened Ones appear in the clouds as if dancing; the back wall features a sculpture of the "Compassionate Ferry" mountain of Buddhas, with over 150 Buddha statues of varying sizes, including Guanyin seated in the center, flanked by Sudhana and Longnü. To the south is the "Sutra Depository," beneath whose eaves hang two large golden plaques inscribed with "Sutra Depository" and "Shining Upon China." To the east are the Guanyin Tower, Guan Di Hall, Cloud Water Platform, Abbot’s Room, and Ancestral Hall; to the west are the Great Mercy Tower, Chanting Tower, Dining Hall, and Dharma Lecture Hall.

Covering an area of about sixteen acres, the layout is roughly square-shaped, with outer buildings consisting of halls and inner structures made up of shrines. The mountain gate faces north, and from the gate southward along the central axis are, in sequence, the second gate, the Mahavira Hall, and the Sutra Depository, all facing south.

Address: No. 17 Shuguang Road, Rucheng Town, Rugao City, Nantong

Type: Temple

Rating: AAA

Recommended visiting time: 1–2 hours

Phone: 0513-87514717

Opening hours:

6:00-18:00

Ticket information:

Door price: 20.0 RMB

Further reading:

· Eighth batch of Jiangsu Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units