Suzhou Lotus Temple

Suzhou Lotus Temple

Suzhou Lotus Temple is a cultural tourism attraction.

The Lotus Temple is located at the western end of Jinxijie in Tong'an Town, Suzhou High-Tech District. Built in the second year of the Shenlong era of the Tang Dynasty (706), it has a history of over 1,300 years. Originally, the temple was very large, reportedly housing as many as 5,048 rooms. The Ming Dynasty scholar Wen Zhenmeng wrote in his "Brief Record on the Renovation of the Great Buddha Hall of Lotus Temple": "To the west of Maoyuan, there is a town called Jinshu, where there is a temple called Lianhua. It was established when a local resident named Liu Wenlong from a previous dynasty donated his residence to be converted into a temple, and it was named after the blue lotus seen in a well."

Over the centuries, the Lianhua Temple underwent multiple renovations but fell into disrepair after the late Qing Dynasty and was destroyed in the 1970s, leaving only two large ginkgo trees in front of the gate.

In 2003, with the support of the district religious affairs bureau and the district Buddhist association, the thousand-year-old temple was restored. By June 2006, the construction of the Mahavira Hall was completed and all the Buddha statues were remade. The current structures of the Lianhua Temple include the Heavenly King Hall, Mahavira Hall, Guanyin Hall, Dizang Hall, side rooms, and dining hall.

Attraction address: Western end of Jinxijie, Tong'an Town, Suzhou High-Tech District, Jiangsu Province

Transportation: Take bus 445 within Suzhou City and get off at Dongjing Nanxinqiao Station, then walk south to reach the temple.