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Main Hall of Guoqing Chan Temple

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The Main Hall of Guoqing Chan Temple is located on the campus of Jiangsu Banpu High School in Banpu Town, Haizhou District, Lianyungang City. Commonly known as the Great Temple, it was originally built during the Sui Dynasty and rebuilt in the Qing Dynasty. The temple originally covered an area of about 13,000 square meters, with three courtyards, including a mountain gate, the Heavenly King Hall, the Mahavira Hall, east and west side rooms, and the abbot’s quarters. In 1923, the temple was converted into Guanyun County Middle School…

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The Main Hall of Guoqing Chan Temple is a cultural relic protection unit of Lianyungang City.

Main Hall of Guoqing Chan Temple

It is located on the campus of Jiangsu Banpu High School in Banpu Town, Haizhou District, Lianyungang City. Commonly known as the Great Temple, it was originally built during the Sui Dynasty and rebuilt in the Qing Dynasty. The temple originally covered an area of about 13,000 square meters, with three courtyards, including a mountain gate, the Heavenly King Hall, the Mahavira Hall, east and west side rooms, and the abbot’s quarters. In 1923, the temple was converted into Guanyun County Middle School; after 1949, it became Banpu Middle School, and the Mahavira Hall was demolished to build an auditorium. Currently, only the mountain gate and the main hall remain. Both are constructed of brick and stone, with small ceramic tile roofing, flush gable roofs, arched doors and windows, no internal partition walls, vertical beams, wooden pillars, and round-carved column bases. The main hall is three bays wide (16 meters), 7 meters deep, and 7.2 meters high. The mountain gate features a running script plaque inscribed with the four characters “Guoqing Chan Temple” and a pair of stone incense burners.

It was designated as part of the fourth batch of cultural relic protection units of Lianyungang City in 2010.

Protected Area:

Extending 5 meters outward from the outer wall of the main hall in all directions.

Construction Control Zone:

Extending 10 meters outward from the outer wall of the main hall in all directions.

Banpu Town: Banpu Town is located at the southern gateway of Lianyungang City, only 15 kilometers north of the city center. The town covers a total area of 80.84 square kilometers, with 74,700 mu of arable land; the total population is 65,691. It administers 5 community committees and 16 administrative villages. In 2008, the town achieved a GDP of 777 million yuan, fiscal revenue of 35.1391 million yuan, and an average rural per capita income of 6,324 yuan.

[Historical Background] Banpu Town has been an important political, economic, and cultural hub in the ancient Haizhou region since its establishment as a town in the late Sui Dynasty (612 AD)… More details about Banpu Town++