Zhenshu Temple Pagoda Forest

Zhenshu Temple Pagoda Forest

Zhenshu Temple Pagoda Forest is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Zhenshu Temple Pagoda Forest is located at the southern foot of Wunao Peak on Yunju Mountain, 22 kilometers northeast of Yongxiu County, Jiujiang City, Jiangxi Province. Zhenshu Temple Pagoda Forest was first built during the Yuanhe era (806–820) of Emperor Xianzong of the Tang Dynasty. At that time, a monk named Dao Rong traveled to Yunju Mountain with Sima Toutuo. Upon reaching the mountaintop, they found the land as flat as a palm and the lake as clear as a mirror, with surrounding peaks—Longzhu Peak, Kasaya Peak, Bowl Peak, and Elephant King Peak—forming a protective barrier. They decided to establish the temple here—Yunju Chan Monastery.

The current Zhenshu Temple Pagoda Forest covers an area of approximately 10,000 square meters. Its main structures include the Heavenly King Hall, Mahavira Hall, Dharma Hall, Jade Buddha Hall, Meditation Hall, Memorial Hall of Master Xuyun, monastic quarters, and more. Most are grand, double-eaved, palace-style buildings constructed with brick and wood, topped with cast iron tiles. The temple owns over 100 acres of paddy fields and more than 3,300 acres of forested land. There are still over ten ancient ginkgo trees on the site, some planted by Master Dao Ying from the Tang Dynasty, with trunks up to two meters in diameter, standing tall and lush. The temple also preserves unearthed relics from the Southern Song to the Ming Dynasties, as well as a large iron cauldron cast during the Qing Kangxi period that could feed a thousand monks. Around the temple are over twenty pagodas from various dynasties. In front of the temple, there remains a “heart-to-heart stone” where Monk Fo Yin and Su Dongpo once conversed, along with multiple stone inscriptions such as Zhaozhou Pass and Bright Moon Lake.

Further Reading:

· Sixth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units