Dongyue Temple

Dongyue Temple

Dongyue Temple is a national AAA-level tourist attraction and a cultural tourism site.

Originally named Dongyue Xinggong, it is located at the foot of Fengshan Mountain on the northern outskirts of Anxi County. It is a national AAA-level scenic spot and a county-level cultural relics protection unit. Its founding date is unknown, but it was rebuilt in the 32nd year of the Shaoxing era during the Southern Song Dynasty (1162) by the county magistrate Li Zhu. The temple consists of front and rear halls, built along the mountain with levels ascending step by step. The existing buildings date from the Kangxi and Qianlong eras of the Qing Dynasty (1662–1795). Other structures on the site include Chitou Palace, Jixian Hall, Lotus Pond, Tan Yue Shrine, Shizi Temple (i.e., the monks’ quarters), and Wanshan Hall. Behind the temple lies Huiweng Pavilion, and in front are two memorial archways shaped like stone gates, standing to the left and right.

Dongyue Temple boasts serene and elegant scenery. With Fengshan Mountain to the north and the clear stream to the south, it is flanked by the three peaks of the Brush Rack Range, which enhance its beauty. From the temple, one can look down upon the town, where smoke and mist rise like clouds, or gaze upward at the mountains, where morning and evening skies glow with rosy hues. Due to its location in the scenic Fengshan area, the temple has long attracted many notable visitors who left behind numerous inscriptions and cultural relics. Today, the temple displays two plaques personally inscribed by the Ming Dynasty calligrapher Zhang Ruitu: “Ancient Temple at Fenglu” and “Wisdom Light Shines Everywhere.” The Neo-Confucian scholar Zhu Xi of the Southern Song Dynasty visited the site and composed the phrase “Spring Shade at Fenglu,” which ranks first among the ancient “Eight Scenic Spots of Anxi.”