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Chengshan Jiao Temple

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Located atop Chengshan Mountain, 21.5 kilometers south of Changxing County. According to the Changxing County Annals from the Jiaqing era of the Qing Dynasty, Chengshan Jiao Temple was first built in the first year of the Yuanjia reign during the Song Dynasty of the Southern Dynasties (424), initially named Cishi Courtyard, later called Xin’an Temple. It was destroyed during the Yuan Dynasty, rebuilt in the early Ming Dynasty, and renamed Chengshan Temple. The “Record of Chengshan Temple” by Feng Mengzhen of the Ming Dynasty and the “Brief Record of the Vairocana Buddha Statue at Shicheng Mountain” by Zhu Guozuo both provide detailed accounts. The temple originally had 30 halls, divided into upper, middle, and lower main halls, with three rooms in each hall; the main gate hall was the Vairocana Hall, the next was the Jade Emperor Hall, and the rear was the Patriarch Hall. There were nine side rooms on each of the east and west sides. Between the three main halls were four spring-fed wells that flowed year-round, producing sweet and refreshing water. In front of the main halls were two “Fangsheng Pools” (liberation pools); the larger pool covered about half an acre with mirror-like clear water, while the smaller one has since silted up. Currently, there are 18 remaining buildings, several acres of tea fields, and a bamboo forest covering 150 acres. In 1983, the county museum renovated the ancient structures of the Vairocana and Jade Emperor Halls, restoring them to their former glory. At the same time, the square pond was refurbished, new railings were added, and ten Yuan Dynasty stone carvings around the temple complex—such as the One Buddha and Two Disciples (Amitabha Buddha, Guanyin, and Mahasthamaprapta), One Buddha and Two Bodhisattvas (Vairocana, Manjushri, and Samantabhadra), and Three Principle Buddhas (the Buddhas of the Past, Present, and Future)—were preserved in good condition. These early traditional ancient relief carvings using line engraving techniques hold significant artistic value.

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Chengshan Jiao Temple is a cultural tourism attraction.

Located atop Chengshan Mountain, 21.5 kilometers south of Changxing County. According to the Changxing County Annals from the Jiaqing era of the Qing Dynasty, Chengshan Jiao Temple was first built in the first year of the Yuanjia reign during the Song Dynasty of the Southern Dynasties (424), initially named Cishi Courtyard, later called Xin’an Temple. It was destroyed during the Yuan Dynasty, rebuilt in the early Ming Dynasty, and renamed Chengshan Temple. The “Record of Chengshan Temple” by Feng Mengzhen of the Ming Dynasty and the “Brief Record of the Vairocana Buddha Statue at Shicheng Mountain” by Zhu Guozuo both provide detailed accounts. The temple originally had 30 halls, divided into upper, middle, and lower main halls, with three rooms in each hall; the main gate hall was the Vairocana Hall, the next was the Jade Emperor Hall, and the rear was the Patriarch Hall. There were nine side rooms on each of the east and west sides. Between the three main halls were four spring-fed wells that flowed year-round, producing sweet and refreshing water. In front of the main halls were two “Fangsheng Pools” (liberation pools); the larger pool covered about half an acre with mirror-like clear water, while the smaller one has since silted up. Currently, there are 18 remaining buildings, several acres of tea fields, and a bamboo forest covering 150 acres. In 1983, the county museum renovated the ancient structures of the Vairocana and Jade Emperor Halls, restoring them to their former glory. At the same time, the square pond was refurbished, new railings were added, and ten Yuan Dynasty stone carvings around the temple complex—such as the One Buddha and Two Disciples (Amitabha Buddha, Guanyin, and Mahasthamaprapta), One Buddha and Two Bodhisattvas (Vairocana, Manjushri, and Samantabhadra), and Three Principle Buddhas (the Buddhas of the Past, Present, and Future)—were preserved in good condition. These early traditional ancient relief carvings using line engraving techniques hold significant artistic value.

Source: Changxing County People's Government