Jiangkou Xinglong Temple

Jiangkou Xinglong Temple

Xinglong Temple is located on the top of a small hill 600 meters west of the Wengda River (now the Xinzhai Railway Station) in Yundu Village, Taoying Township, Jiangkou County, on the eastern foothills of Mount Fanjing. Legend has it that the temple has a long history. The original temple was built about 1,000 meters to the left of the current one, halfway up the mountainside. From the current site, the ruins of the old temple can be clearly seen. The original site covered several acres, featuring a seven-pillar wooden structure in a large three-courtyard layout, with resident monks spreading Buddhist teachings. The temple had farmland, forests, and gardens. There were seven stone steles inscribed with the history of the temple’s establishment and propagation of Buddhism, which still exist (though some have been repurposed by locals as well linings), while the main buildings were long destroyed. The inscriptions on the steles have been filled in with cement, making the characters illegible. The historical records and legends of the temple remain unverifiable. Local folklore includes stories about the monks who spread Buddhism here.

In 1998, local devotees including Deng Yinzheng, Luo Huide, Wu Anshun, Wu Guo’an, Wang Shide, Xia Cuilian, Wu Anjun, and Wu Guodong led the relocation and reconstruction of the temple at this site. The current temple covers an area of about half an acre (on barren hillside) and consists of a front hall and a main hall. Both halls are built with cement bricks and stand over ten feet tall. The front hall enshrines the Maitreya Buddha, while the rear hall is divided into left, middle, and right sections. The central section houses the Sakyamuni Buddha, the left side enshrines the Dipankara Buddha, and the right side features various celestial deities. Currently, the relocated Xinglong Temple houses a total of 14 Buddhist statues of varying sizes.

The Taoying Township’s Wengda River area, where Xinglong Temple is situated, is home to a diverse mix of ethnic groups, with a dense population and a broad devotee base. On auspicious Buddhist dates such as February 19, April 8, June 19, and September 19 each year, many pilgrims gather here. It serves as an important site for collective Buddhist practice and worship. Especially with the opening of the Chongqing–Huaihua Railway and the local railway station, combined with the growing tourism in Mount Fanjing and the newly opened road connecting Taoying to Nuxi, Taiping, and Heiwanhe, Xinglong Temple is poised to play a positive role in benefiting both the local community and visitors.