Lushan Temple

Lushan Temple

Lushan Temple is a cultural tourism attraction.

The thousand-year-old Lushan Temple is located northeast of the Hemudu Primitive Ecological Area and was first built in the first year of the Qianyuan era of the Tang Dynasty (758). In the seventh year of the Tian Sheng era of the Northern Song Dynasty (1029), it was rebuilt by Monk Huilan. In the second year of the Zhi Ping era (1065), it was bestowed the official name “Lushan Puguang Monastery” by imperial decree. At one time, its scale and influence rivaled those of Tiantong Temple and Xuedou Temple in eastern Zhejiang.

The existing Lushan Temple faces northeast and covers an area of 5,290 square meters. The mountain gate, scripture depository, and the side dining halls were reconstructed in the 13th year of the Guangxu era (1887) by Monk Shouchuan, while the main hall was rebuilt in 1995. The main hall is 19.6 meters wide, divided into five bays, with a double-eave hip-and-gable roof covered in glazed tiles and upturned wing corners. In front of the temple stands a towering millennium-old ginkgo tree with a trunk circumference requiring three people to encircle. Beside the tree is a stone-lined liberation pond covering approximately 240 square meters, with rippling water and pleasant scenery, as described in the poem “Lushan Temple” by Song Dynasty scholar Shu Dan: “A small path winds through the pine gateway, half-shrouded in clouds, half in rain. Red leaves fill the courtyard as visitors lean on the rail, while a pool of cold water stirs the autumn hills.”