Putuo Zongcheng Temple

Putuo Zongcheng Temple

Putuo Zongcheng Temple is a national AAAA-level tourist attraction and a key cultural relic protection unit of China.

Putuo Zongcheng Temple was first built in the 32nd year of the Qianlong reign (1767) and completed four years later. It is the largest temple among the “Outer Eight Temples” and is commonly known as the “Little Potala Palace.” The temple complex houses about 60 structures of various sizes, with halls and pavilions spread out like stars in the sky, nestled against the mountain and facing the water. The layout makes ingenious use of the terrain and surrounding scenery, featuring flexible arrangements while maintaining an air of solemnity and grandeur. The main structure, the Great Red Platform, stands 43 meters tall. At its center is the Wanfa Guiyi Hall, the principal hall, whose roof rises above the surrounding buildings. The rooftop is covered with gilded fish-scale copper tiles, shimmering brilliantly and exuding magnificence and grandeur. The base is enclosed by three tiers of corridors, creating contrasting light and shadow that enhance the religious atmosphere of solemnity and reverence—making it a masterpiece of religious architecture. In recent years, the “Imperial Viewing Pavilion” atop the Great Red Platform has hosted the ethnic and religious song-and-dance performance “Light of Putuo.” Drawing inspiration from major events such as the temple’s completion, imperial birthday celebrations, and the return of the Torghut tribe, the performance uses dance and music to depict the strong centripetal force and unity of the Chinese nation during the prosperous “Kangxi-Qianlong Era,” as well as the shared aspiration of people of all ethnicities to build a peaceful and flourishing China. Currently, visitors can enjoy the “Light of Putuo” performance every morning on the “Imperial Viewing Pavilion,” once reserved for emperors.

Putuo Zongcheng Temple is located on the northern slope of Shizi Gully and west of Xumi Fushou Temple, covering an area of 220,000 square meters. According to the “Inscription of Putuo Zongcheng Temple” by Emperor Qianlong, there are three sacred sites of Guanyin Bodhisattva in the Southern Sea—one in India, one in Tibet, and one in Dinghai, Zhejiang. Emperor Qianlong originally intended to replicate the earliest Indian form of the Guanyin’s Putuo sanctuary, but due to difficulties in research, he opted to model the temple after the Potala Palace in Tibet, which had a complete architectural system. “Putuo Zongcheng” is the Chinese translation of the Tibetan word “Potala,” hence the temple is also called the Potala Temple.

Putuo Zongcheng Temple is also the largest among the Outer Eight Temples. The temple structures are spread out in a well-spaced yet free arrangement along the mountain, creating a rich sense of variety and rhythm. Crossing a five-arch stone bridge over Shizi Gully and arriving at the temple square, you’ll see the white-platform-style mountain gate and a pair of majestic stone lions. The temple wall is topped with battlements, flanked at both ends by white watchtowers used for lookout. Inside the mountain gate, the central structure is the stele pavilion, featuring a double-eaved hip-and-gable roof covered with yellow glazed tiles. The pavilion has arched entrances, a stone base with railings, and four stairways. To the north of the pavilion is the Five-Tower Gate, adorned with five lama towers of varying styles and colors, each representing one of the five Buddhist sects: the red tower for the Hinayana sect; the green tower for a Vajrayana sect; the yellow tower for Vajrayana; the white tower for Mahayana; and the black tower for the self-enlightenment sect. In front of the gate stand a pair of stone statues symbolizing the Mahayana sect. Passing through the Five-Tower Gate and walking north along a naturally paved stone path with ice-patterned designs, you’ll soon reach the glazed archway. In front of the archway is a terrace surrounded by a parapet wall, with stairways on the center and sides, and another pair of stone statues on the terrace.

From the archway to the Great Red Platform lies an open area with undulating terrain, where massive rocks emerge and lush pines and cypresses are scattered. A flagstone path winds up the hillside, flanked by monk quarters and white platforms. The white platforms are edged with blue bricks and inlaid with red blind windows. Some platforms house small halls used as Buddha halls or bell towers, while others hold stupas—single or in groups of five—all symbolizing longevity and good fortune. The Donggang Hall enshrines Vajrayana Buddhist statues, while the Xigang Hall houses a gilded copper statue of the Goddess of Fortune riding a mule. These structures, adapting to the terrain, vary in height and shape, creating a solemn, vast, and uniquely Tibetan highland atmosphere.

In the vast and open northern part of the courtyard rises the towering Great Red Platform, the main structure of Putuo Zongcheng Temple. Majestic and imposing, it evokes the profound and mysterious nature of Buddhist teachings. The Great Red Platform stands 43 meters tall and is divided into upper and lower sections. The lower part is the base, known as the Great White Platform, constructed entirely from large granite slabs, coated with lime, and covering an area of about 10,000 square meters. It is 18 meters high with a volume of over 180,000 cubic meters. The main facade of the white platform features three tiers of Tibetan-style trapezoidal windows (also called “blind windows”) rendered in red and gray. The upper part of the red platform is coated with red plaster, referred to as the Great Red Platform. Its massive walls are both grand and dynamic without being rigid. The base of the red wall is nearly 60 meters wide, tapering slightly toward the top, also nearly 60 meters wide, and 25 meters high, forming a nearly perfect trapezoid with a volume of about 90,000 cubic meters. The wall features seven tiers of windows from bottom to top, with the upper six being faux or genuine Tibetan trapezoidal windows, and the lowest tier being Han-style horizontal rectangular windows. Six gilded Buddhist niches are arranged from bottom to top along the center of the red wall, each adorned with yellow-and-purple gilded canopies and housing gilded Buddha statues. The parapet wall atop the red platform is embedded with yellow gilded niches containing Buddha statues, while the roof’s center features gilded Buddhist symbols and a lama tower. At the corners of the parapet wall are placed vases topped with iron flags.

The Great Red Platform is built halfway up the mountain. Its complex shape has been meticulously designed into several uneven levels. On the east and west sides of the Great White Platform, stone paths lead up to the first level—the top of the Great White Platform—where four large stone-carved flagpole bases and four large cast-iron water tanks are placed. The platform is vast, offering an open view. To the east of the white platform is the Tibetan-style Wenshu Shengjing Hall, and to the west is the Han-style Qianfo Pavilion decorated with glazed hanging floral motifs. Ascending further via the stone path around the Great Red Platform leads to the second level—the East Red Platform—surrounded by two-tiered corridors. At the center of the corridors is the two-story Imperial Viewing Pavilion with a tiled roof. Climbing up from the second level leads to the third level—the central structure of Putuo Zongcheng Temple, the Wanfa Guiyi Hall. This level features three tiers of corridors surrounding the Wanfa Guiyi Hall. The second tier of corridors provides access to the Luojia Shengjing Hall north of the East Red Platform and the octagonal, double-eaved, gilded-tiled Quanheng Sanjie Pavilion at the northeast corner. At the northwest corner of the corridor’s rooftop is the octagonal, double-eaved, gilded-tiled Cihang Pudu Pavilion. These halls and pavilions vary in form and height, with rooftops all covered in gilded fish-scale copper tiles, shimmering brilliantly. Together with the red and white platforms, they create an awe-inspiring spatial silhouette against the blue sky, white clouds, and layered mountains.

The Stele of the “Complete Submission of the Torghut Tribe” and the Stele of the “Imperial Benevolence Toward the Torghut People”—both inscribed in Chinese, Manchu, Mongolian, and Tibetan by Emperor Qianlong—serve as testament to the fact that Putuo Zongcheng Temple, a masterpiece symbolizing multi-ethnic architectural art, is a product and witness to the consolidation and development of China’s unified multi-ethnic nation during the Qing Dynasty.

Goddess of Fortune: Commonly known as the “Mule-riding Heavenly Queen,” she is a deity in Buddhism. The term “fortune” refers to her ability to expel demons and bring peace every New Year’s Eve. This statue was originally housed in the Quanheng Sanjie Pavilion. Standing 5 chi, 6 cun, and 6 fen tall (approximately 1.8 meters), it required about 600 kilograms of red copper, 57 taels of top-grade gold leaf, 6,400 workdays, and cost over 1,100 taels of silver. The statue features a ferocious and unique design, making it a rare find in China.

Wanfa Guiyi Hall: The main hall of Putuo Zongcheng Temple, located at the center of the Great Red Platform. It is seven bays wide, features a double-eaved pyramidal roof covered with gilded fish-scale copper tiles, and has a roof ridge adorned with wavy gilded tiles. The spire is shaped like a Dharma bell. Over 14,000 taels of top-grade gold leaf were used for the roof. The hall is surrounded by three tiers of corridors, each with 44 bays. The exterior walls of the existing corridors are currently under reconstruction. This hall served as the place where Qing emperors and ethnic minority nobility came to worship.

The original screen inside the hall featured a 10-meter-long and 3-meter-wide embroidered Buddha image, which unfortunately was stolen by warlords. At the entrance is a copper enamel bodhi pagoda, and at the center is a purple sandalwood carved flower Buddha niche housing the Maitreya Buddha. On both sides are purple sandalwood longevity pagodas, with offerings on the front altar such as the Eight Treasures, Five Offerings, and coral trees—all original to the hall. In front of the screen are bronze statues of the Amitayus Buddha and the Eight Great Bodhisattvas, including Tsongkhapa, all relocated from the corridors. These statues, weighing about half a ton each, feature exquisite designs and vivid expressions.

Further Reading:

· Top Ten Ancient Architectures in Hebei Province

· Second Batch of Cultural Relic Protection Units in Hebei Province

· First Batch of Key Cultural Relic Protection Units of China