Yixing Huacheng Temple

Yixing Huacheng Temple

Yixing Huacheng Temple is a cultural relics protection unit of Yixing City.

Huacheng Temple is located at the eastern end of Dongheng Street in Heqiao Town, Yixing City. In January 1985, it was designated as a county-level cultural relics protection unit by the Yixing County People's Government.

Legend has it that during the Longqing era of the Ming Dynasty, Prince Jin Dizang of the Kingdom of Siam (now Thailand), who sailed across the sea to choose a site for Jiuhua Mountain, once stayed here in a thatched cottage, hence it was also called "Thatched Hut." By the end of the Qianlong reign in the Qing Dynasty, Monk Jueming raised funds to build a scripture depository, expanded living quarters, and renamed it Huacheng Temple. In the tenth year of the Xianfeng era (1860), it was destroyed by fire during warfare, and in the thirteenth year of the Tongzhi era (1874), the main hall and east and west side halls were rebuilt. In the second year of the Guangxu era (1876), the mountain gate was reconstructed.

The existing structures of Huacheng Temple consist of three courtyards, covering an area of over 4,000 square meters. The first courtyard is the Heavenly King Hall, featuring a flush-gable roof, with a width of five bays (19.30 meters) and a depth of eight rafters (11.20 meters). Inside the hall, the front enshrines a statue of Maitreya, the back features Skanda, and the sides house the Four Heavenly Kings—all were recreated in the 1990s. The second courtyard is the Kṣitigarbha Hall, also with a flush-gable roof, spanning five bays (17.50 meters) in width and eleven rafters (14.80 meters) in depth, housing thirteen Buddha statues. The third courtyard was originally a two-story scripture depository, with seven bays in width and a depth of 20 meters. It was renovated in the late 1990s into the Mahavira Hall. To the north of the hall lies a rear courtyard with a liberation pond. Two rows of side rooms, totaling over forty structures, are located on the east and west sides of the temple, serving as the abbot’s quarters, monks’ dormitories, and dining hall. Huacheng Temple was originally the most intact and grandest temple architecture from the Qing Dynasty in our city. Although some parts have been modified, it still holds significant historical research value.

Heqiao Town: Heqiao is one of the four major towns in Yixing City, boasting a history of over 1,500 years. Since ancient times, it has been an important commercial port where “thousands of small boats gathered and merchants from all directions passed through,” serving as the economic, cultural, trade, and information hub of the northern part of the city. The town covers an area of 105.10 square kilometers, with 30 administrative villages, 2 fish farms, 6 community residential committees, over 800 enterprises and institutions, and a total population of nearly 70,000. The town enjoys distinct seasons, abundant produce, flourishing industries, and a talented populace, earning it the reputation of being the “Little Wuxi of the South” and the “Home of Professors.” In 2003, the town accomplished the national... More details about Heqiao Town++