Suidong Dawang Temple

Suidong Dawang Temple

Suidong Dawang Temple is a cultural relic protection unit of Suqian City.

Located on the west bank of the canal at Dongguan Pass. The temple was first built in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. It originally covered an area of about 1,300 square meters. The entire complex faces east with its back to the west, directly overlooking the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. Within the courtyard, there is a three-bay mountain gate, with the middle section serving as a passageway and side rooms on either side. The main hall consists of three bays, measuring 12 meters in width and 7.8 meters in depth, with a ridge height of 7 meters. To the north of the main hall are three bays of the Guanyin Hall, and to the south are four bays of guest rooms and living quarters. On the south wall of the main hall are embedded two stone steles: one records the oral instructions given by Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty during his personal inspection of flood prevention works in Suqian in the 46th year of his reign (1707 AD); the other bears the reflections of Jin Guanghuan, the great-grandson of Jin Fu (the Qing Dynasty’s River Conservancy Commissioner) and then the Transporting Pacification Magistrate of Songjiang Prefecture, who paid homage to the statue of Jin Fu within the temple when passing through Suqian. On the north wall is a stone stele that documents the specific details of donations in money and materials made by the Songjiang, Haining, and Jianghuai transport guilds, as well as local devotees in Suqian, for the renovation of Dawang Temple during the autumn of the Jia Shen year in the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty.