Hai Ning Chan Temple

Hai Ning Chan Temple

Hai Ning Chan Temple is a cultural tourism attraction.

You can reach Sanyuan Palace either by climbing up the mountain path or by taking the cable car. Sanyuan Palace is the main temple of the Yuntai Mountain area and also the principal structure of Huaguo Mountain.

The worship of the Three Pure Ones has a long history. As early as over 1,600 years ago during the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Gan Bao’s *In Search of the Supernatural* recorded the story of Chen Guangrui, a man from the East Sea, who had three sons that attained enlightenment and became immortals. They were in charge of the heavens, the earth, and water. During the Ming Dynasty, belief in the Three Pure Ones flourished especially in northern Jiangsu and southern Shandong. In the 15th year of the Wanli era (1587), Xie Chun from Huai’an, having exhausted his family fortune, expanded Sanyuan Palace, laying the foundation for its architectural complex. The author of *Journey to the West* was a staunch believer in the Three Pure Ones. The book states that Tang Sanzang is the son of Chen Guangrui from the East Sea, making the Three Pure Ones enshrined here his spiritual brothers. In recent years, Sanyuan Palace was renamed Hai Ning Chan Temple, with the statue of Sakyamuni Buddha replacing the former deities. The statues of the Three Pure Ones have been moved to the east side hall.

In front of the Mahavira Hall stand two thousand-year-old ginkgo trees, symbolizing the ancient history of Sanyuan Palace. During the Anti-Japanese War, Sanyuan Palace was heavily bombed by Japanese aircraft. Although these trees had their branches broken and trunks scorched, they sprouted new buds in the spring breeze of victory and bore abundant fruit. After several renovations in recent years, Sanyuan Palace has gradually regained its original appearance, with only a section of the ruined wall in the lower southeastern part preserved as a witness to history.