Nantong Nanshan Temple

Nantong Nanshan Temple

Nantong Nanshan Temple is a national AAA-level tourist attraction and a cultural tourism site.

The first phase of Nanshan Temple in Tongzhou District has a planned land area of 48.5 mu, with a controlled land area of 100 mu. The overall architecture is designed in the Ming and Qing styles and is divided into three axes. The central axis features a memorial archway, the Heavenly King Hall, a liberation pond, the Mahavira Hall, and the Ten Thousand Buddhas Hall. The eastern axis includes the Treasure and Wealth God Hall, the Tongzhou Tower, the Guanyin Hall, the Medicine Buddha Hall, and the abbot’s quarters. The western axis includes the Indra Hall, the Kṣitigarbha Hall, the Pure Land Water Courtyard, the Pure Land Tower, and the Scripture Depository. Currently completed structures include the Heavenly King Hall, the liberation pond, the Mahavira Hall, the Guanyin Hall, the bell tower, the drum tower, the Dharma goods distribution center, and two wing rooms. Under construction are the Indra Hall, the Treasure and Wealth God Hall, and the Tongzhou Tower. Those planned for upcoming construction include the memorial archway, the Pure Land Tower, and the Medicine Buddha Hall.

Nantong Nanshan Temple was originally built during the Ming Dynasty, renovated in the Qing Dynasty during the Jiaqing era, and after the reform and opening-up period, in the mid-1980s, as part of implementing religious policies, the Jing’an Nunnery at Shuangpi Bridge in Jinsha was renamed Nanshan Temple and opened to the public. In 1992, with approval from the Tongzhou City Ethnic and Religious Affairs Bureau, the old Nanshan Temple at the intersection of Chaoyang Road and Renmin East Road was designated as the temple’s branch and also opened to the public. Master Yaolai, a graduate of Hangzhou Buddhist Academy, was invited to oversee daily management. In 1994, with approval from the Tongzhou Municipal Government, the temple was relocated to Penjiaqiao Village in the development zone of Tongzhou City.