Fu Hui Temple

Fu Hui Temple

Fu Hui Temple is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Fu Hui Temple is located 1 kilometer west of Wangfu Mansion in Harqin Banner, Chifeng City. It served as the family temple of the Harqin Prince’s Mansion and was built during the Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty. As one of the major temples in Harqin Banner, together with Lingyue Temple built in the Qianlong reign and Longquan Temple from the Yuan Dynasty, it forms the cultural tourism landscape of “one mansion and three temples” in the region. Fu Hui Temple features a distinctive temple architectural style that vividly illustrates the flourishing history of Tibetan Buddhism in the Mongolian region during the Qing Dynasty.

The temple is rectangular in shape, covering an area of 6,136 square meters. It faces south and is laid out symmetrically along a central axis. There are currently 15 individual structures, mainly built with brick and wood and adorned with imperial-style and spiral decorative paintings. The mountain gate has a flush gable roof, with stone-carved lotus-petal archways and lattice false windows. The bell and drum towers feature a cross ridge and dougong brackets of the “one-dou two-lift interlocking hemp-leaf” style. The side halls have hip-and-gable roofs with single-rising colorful dougong. The scripture hall is a hip-and-gable pavilion-style building, with a front rain shelter and rear wing room; its gable is inlaid with brick carvings of the “Ten Freedoms” motif.

The main scripture hall is a hip-and-gable pavilion-style structure with a square false window resembling a tiled roof. The rear hall is a flush gable pavilion-style building with wooden-carved vase and dragon-pattern railings. Each hall houses sculptures of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, with walls painted with Buddhist scripture stories. The main wooden shrine in the scripture hall is solemnly designed, large in scale, intricately and exquisitely carved, and covered in splendidly colorful paintings. The compact layout of Fu Hui Temple makes it a typical representation of medium and small-sized Tibetan Buddhist temples in Inner Mongolia.

Fu Hui Temple exhibits an ancient and elegant early Qing Dynasty architectural style, reflecting the rigorous and dignified construction characteristics of official buildings in northern China. Its rich use of large timber structural techniques, rare advanced roof styles, and vibrant imperial-style, brick, and wood carvings create a mysterious and magnificent hall of arts and crafts.

Fu Hui Temple is a prime example of the high integration of traditional woodworking craftsmanship and esoteric Buddhist features, and stands out as a representative of medium and small-sized Tibetan Buddhist temples in Inner Mongolia. The temple now covers an area of over ten acres and includes: the Heavenly King Hall, which enshrines Maitreya Bodhisattva and the Four Heavenly Kings; the Longevity Buddha Hall, housing the Amitayus Buddha, with White Tara, Samantabhadra, Guanyin, Green Tara, Manjushri, and Ksitigarbha on either side; the Main Scripture Hall, which venerates Tsongkhapa, with Gyaltsab Je and Khedrup Je on the right and left, and Padmasambhava Hall and Mahakala Hall on the right and left respectively; the Monastery Hall, which enshrines Shakyamuni Buddha, with Ānanda and Kāśyapa on the right and left; the Future Buddha Hall, enshrining Maitreya; the Three Ages Buddha Hall and the 0 Hall on the right and left. For many years, the incense has never ceased, and visitors have been constant. It is a renowned religious tourism destination in the Chifeng area, with its traditional temple fair held annually on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month.

Further Reading:

· Fifth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units