Nanjing Guanyin Pavilion

Nanjing Guanyin Pavilion

Nanjing Guanyin Pavilion is a cultural tourism attraction.

The Guanyin Pavilion is located on the eastern side of Mufu Mountain in the northwest of Nanjing. Along the river are limestone hills. During the Hongwu era of the Ming Dynasty, a Guanyin Pavilion was built beside the mountain, hence the name Guanyin Mountain. By the time of Emperor Yingzong of Ming, a temple was constructed around the pavilion, named Hongji Temple, which later merged with Yongji Temple to become one of Nanjing’s major ancient temples. Upon entering the temple gate, one sees the hall situated beneath the mountainside, over ten feet deep, hollow to the bottom, with wooden frames forming shrines, and stone steles in the front columns engraved with the image of Guanyin painted by Wu Daozi.

Due to the passage of time, the temple has become dilapidated, but the Guanyin Pavilion still stands tall by the river, as if poised to descend. Gazing out the window, you’ll see vast open fields, an endless river surface, and within the mountain lies the wonder of the “12 Terraces and Caves of Rocky Mountain.”

The Yangtze River Guanyin Scenic Area is divided into eight major sub-areas along the route: Guanyin Pavilion, Baizi Forest, Stone Sutra Garden, First Terrace Cave, Second Terrace Cave, Love Destiny Square, Third Terrace Cave, and Buddhist Chanting Garden. It houses numerous Guanyin statues with various themes such as Sacred Guanyin, Child-Giving Guanyin, Thousand-Armed Guanyin, Medicine-Bestowing Guanyin, Dragon-Headed Guanyin, Reclining Lotus Guanyin, Water-Moon Guanyin, and Jeweled Treasure Guanyin. It also features numerous sculptural pieces, cliff inscriptions, and Buddhist-themed murals, collectively showcasing China’s long-standing and profound Guanyin culture that has lasted for millennia. The scenic area is divided into eastern and western sections. The eastern section consists of five parts: Guanyin Pavilion, Baizi Forest, Stone Path Garden, First Terrace Cave, and Second Terrace Cave; the western section includes three parts: Love Destiny Square, Third Terrace Cave, and Buddhist Chanting Garden. "Guanyin" is the semantic translation of the Sanskrit word, literally meaning "the bodhisattva who observes (the voices of the worldly people)." It is one of the Four Great Bodhisattvas. It is said that during the Tang Dynasty, to avoid using the character "Shi" (世), part of Emperor Li Shimin’s personal name, it was omitted, and thus abbreviated to "Guanyin." In addition to her main form, Guanyin has thirty-two manifestations, each carrying unique symbolic meanings. Our scenic area currently enshrines more than ten of these forms. Each Guanyin is uniquely distinctive, representing various beautiful aspirations.

Temple Legends

To the west of Nanjing’s picturesque Yanziji (Swallow Rock), there is a famous Guanyin Pavilion, also known as the Seven-Pillar Pavilion. Built against the mountain and facing the vast Yangtze River, it features upturned eaves and classic elegance; visitors to this place feel as if they have entered a fairyland.

Travelers may ask: Why was a Guanyin Pavilion built here? There is a magical legend behind it.

Legend has it that in ancient China, there was a kind of creature called a dragon. Dragons were divided into good and evil ones. Those with two horns on their heads were true dragons, the benevolent ones. These dragons had gentle temperaments and could control the wind, summon clouds, and bring rain, benefiting the world and helping mankind. Those with a single horn or no horn at all were called flood dragons, the malicious ones. These flood dragons had violent and cruel dispositions; they often caused trouble, stirring up winds and waves, creating disasters, and endangering humanity.

In ancient times, there was once a flood dragon in the Jiangsu region. This flood dragon frequently stirred up trouble in Hongze Lake. Due to its mischief, the Hongze Lake area often suffered from severe floods, many fields were submerged, and countless lives were lost. When the Jade Emperor in heaven learned of this, he felt both sorrow and anger. He immediately summoned the Goddess Guanyin and instructed her: “Go quickly to the human realm to investigate what kind of monster is stirring up clouds and rains, causing hundreds of thousands of lives to perish. Once you find out, imprison it, and never allow it to harm the world again!”

The Goddess Guanyin accepted the Jade Emperor’s decree, rode the auspicious clouds, left the heavens, disguised herself in various human forms, and searched everywhere in the mortal world.

At that time, the malicious flood dragon that caused harm had been stirring up trouble in the Hongze Lake area for several days and nights. Feeling exhausted and bored, and wanting to find some amusement elsewhere, it forcefully broke through the lake surface and swam toward the shore.

At that moment, in a small town on the shore of Hongze Lake, there were many small stalls selling goods along the streets. On a path by the lake dike, an old man with a white beard carried a shoulder pole with water and came to the market to sell it. After setting down his water pole, the old man began shouting loudly: “Cool water for sale, hot water for sale? Who wants to buy, who wants to drink!” As soon as he stopped shouting, a neighbor grumbled: “You old fellow, so annoying; it’s been raining so much these days, who would want to buy your water?!”

The white-bearded old man laughed heartily and said: “Everyone sells what they have, and everyone buys what they need. If you don’t believe me, someone will come to buy!”

Sure enough, an elderly woman walked toward the old man. She carried a bamboo basket on her left arm, filled with various fresh flowers. She approached the old man and said: “Sir, could you spare some water, please?” The water-selling old man replied indifferently: “If you need some water, sure, how much do you want?”

“I don’t need much,” the elderly woman said, taking out a small porcelain bottle from her basket and placing it on the ground. She continued: “Sir, just fill this little bottle for me!”

The white-bearded old man sneered: “So that’s all you want?” He picked up a bucket and began pouring water into the small bottle. As he poured, he grew puzzled—after emptying the whole bucket, the small bottle still wasn’t full. Shocked, the old man thought: “This old lady must be up to no good!” He quickly turned and jumped into the Hongze Lake behind him. With a “plop,” he disappeared. It turned out that this old man was the transformed flood dragon.

The elderly woman was the incarnation of Guanyin. She too leapt into the air, rose up, and flew away on a cloud.

The flood dragon that had been harming the world dove into the water, desperately fled out of Hongze Lake, then swam into the Yangtze River via the Southern Canal, and continued upstream. After fleeing all day from morning until dusk, utterly exhausted, it finally surfaced and transformed into a scholar-like figure, landing on the southern bank. He arrived in the streets of Yanziji, feeling extremely hungry, and entered a small eatery, shouting: “Shopkeeper, what delicious food do you have? Make it quickly!”

An old man wearing a white apron around his waist came out from the back room and said: “Sir, you’ve come too late. The good food has all been sold out. Right now, you can only have a big meat noodle dish!”

“Fine, then make me a big meat noodle dish, and hurry up!” the flood dragon urged.

Soon, the old restaurant man brought out a large bowl of steaming hot meat noodles. The flood dragon smelled the fragrant aroma, opened its mouth wide, and began eating. After just one bite, it got stuck in its throat and couldn’t swallow. Then it forcefully vomited it out, and with a “splash,” an iron chain fell to the ground from its mouth. The flood dragon looked up in shock to see that the restaurant man had revealed his true form—it was the Goddess Guanyin standing before him, holding the iron chain in one hand and saying: “I have been ordered by the Jade Emperor to capture you, this beast that harms the human world!”

She then locked the flood dragon in the pool of the Third Terrace Cave to the west, eliminating a great menace for the world. To this day, an iron chain used to bind the flood dragon remains in the pool of the Third Terrace Cave, becoming a rare historical relic.

The local villagers, in gratitude and to commemorate the grace of the Goddess Guanyin, built this Guanyin Pavilion to the west of Yanziji, also known as the Seven-Pillar Pavilion. At the time, while constructing the Guanyin Pavilion, the villagers also thought of the Jade Emperor’s blessing and built a Jade Emperor Pavilion on the mountaintop of the Third Terrace Cave, carving a statue of the Jade Emperor. When Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, was constructing the outer city’s eighteen gates, he valued the psychology of the common people and named one of the city gates here “Guanyin Gate.” The surviving Guanyin Pavilion was rebuilt during the Qing Dynasty.

Now, the Yanziji Park Management Office has restored the appearance of the original Guanyin Pavilion by commissioning new statues of Sakyamuni and Guanyin, adding new charm to this famous scenic spot.

Temple Transportation Guide

I. Bus Route Guide:

Take bus No. 8 or No. 125, and get off at the final stop: Yanziji Station.

II. Metro Route Guide:

Get off at the final stop of Maiqiao Station -- transfer to Bus 8 and get off at Yanziji Station -- enter from the east entrance of the Muyan Riverside Scenic Area.

III. Self-Driving Route Guide:

1) From Hexi direction: Jiangdong Road -- Mufu East Road -- Xiaozhuang Square -- Heyan Road -- east entrance of the Muyan Riverside Scenic Area -- Yangtze River Guanyin Scenic Area;

2) From Xinjiekou direction: Longpan Road -- Xinzhuang Interchange -- Hongshan Road -- Heyan Road -- east entrance of the Muyan Riverside Scenic Area -- Yangtze River Guanyin Scenic Area;

3) From Jiangbei direction: Yangtze River Bridge -- Shuiguan Bridge Overpass -- Wutang Village Square -- west entrance of the Muyan Riverside Scenic Area -- Yangtze River Guanyin Scenic Area.