Danyang White Dragon Temple

Danyang White Dragon Temple

Danyang White Dragon Temple is a cultural tourism attraction.

Located to the south of Huangtian Village in present-day Pixi Town, at the northern foot of Jingshan Mountain. The exact date of its initial construction is unknown. It was originally built as the Pengshan Dragon Shrine. In the first year of the Jiatai era of the Song Dynasty (1201), the emperor bestowed upon it the plaque “Xianji Temple.” The temple was known for the miraculous Dragon Pool, which connected to a mountain spring and never dried up throughout the year. At that time, a local scholar surnamed Rong purchased over 170 acres of land to build the temple. It was destroyed in the tenth year of the Xianfeng era of the Qing Dynasty (1860), rebuilt in the ninth year of the Tongzhi era (1870), and renamed “White Dragon Temple.” It underwent two more reconstructions in the 23rd (1897) and 28th (1898) years of the Guangxu era, and was granted the imperial inscription “Benefiting All Living Beings.”

Originally, the temple had three courtyards in a row: the front courtyard had five large rooms, the middle courtyard had three large rooms flanked by statues of the Four Heavenly Kings, with the statue of Sakyamuni Buddha in the center; the rear courtyard had five rooms, including the Dragon King Hall, with three plaques hanging from the hall beams and a bell and drum on either side—the drum was about four feet in diameter. The White Dragon Temple Pool was located in the center of the temple courtyard, enclosed by a wall with three stone steles embedded in it. A covered walkway was built in front of the temple gate for travelers to rest. In the 31st year of the Republic of China (1942), most of the temple structures were demolished by the Japanese army. After the liberation, only the rear courtyard and the White Dragon Pool remained. In 1979, the temple was completely demolished and replaced by an elementary school; today, only the temple pool remains.