Haifeng Jinzhu Temple

Haifeng Jinzhu Temple

Haifeng Jinzhu Temple is a cultural tourism attraction.

Jinzhu Temple is located 12 kilometers from Haifeng County town, on Xiangling Ridge at the southern foot of Yinping Mountain in Lianhuashan Town. The Qing Dynasty *Haifeng County Annals* state: “Yinping Mountain... rises and lies between the Qian and Kan trigrams, the ancestral mountain of the county. Towering a thousand ren high, it resembles a bottle, producing five-colored exotic flowers. It has a heavenly pool that does not dry up in autumn and winter, and in spring and summer, waterfalls cascade down like silk.” It also says: “Jinzhu Nunnery, located midway up Yinping Mountain, has mossy stone paths winding through it, with cascading springs and flying waterfalls among the rocks.” The temple has a long history, dating back over 400 years, and was built during the Ming Dynasty’s Wanli era through the fundraising efforts of the eminent monk Yin Zong. It was named “Jinzhu Nunnery” because the Xiangling Ridge was covered with a grove of golden bamboo.

Surrounded by mountains and water, Jinzhu Temple is lush with trees and enjoys a tranquil environment. To the north are scenic spots such as “Shi’an Gorge,” “First Spring,” and “Yinping Waterfall”; to the east is “Carp Pond”; to the west is “Seven Stars Pond”; and to the south is “Heart-Cleansing Pond,” among other natural landscapes. There are also historic sites such as the Stupa of Yuán Mǐnruìzhé, the founding abbot; the stupa of Jùn Xiánhuì, the abbot from the late Qing Dynasty; and a stone tablet from the Guangxu era of the Qing Dynasty prohibiting mountain fires and protecting forests. It is a renowned scenic area that combines religion, tourism, and summer retreat.

In the early years of the Kangxi reign during the Qing Dynasty, Huang Deyu, a renowned scholar and successful candidate in the imperial examination (Jiyou Year of the Chongzhen era), often visited Jinzhu Temple. He drank from the sweet spring, whose refreshing water invigorated his spirit, and wrote the words “First Spring” as well as the poem *Silver Bottle Waterfall*: “Amid layered peaks on a moonlit night, soft thunder rumbles faintly; a stream of Milky Way connects to the high stage. The maritime land receives abundant spring rain year after year—such a blessing surely comes from immortal talent.” Over the dynasties, more than 30 poems and inscriptions were left by literati and poets who visited Jinzhu Temple on Yinping Mountain, reflecting the county’s reverence for historical culture.

In 1995, Jinzhu Temple established a reconstruction council led by Lin Hancheng, Yang Jiamao, Shi Chaozhe, Gao Yuhua, Gao Fosheng, and others, and began soliciting donations from devotees both in China and abroad for the temple’s rebuilding. The planned construction area of the temple is 5,000 square meters.

Now, with strong support from the county and town governments,

the “Guanyin Pavilion,” “Bogong Temple,” and the ongoing projects “Ancient and Modern Poetry Stele Corridor,” “Fragrant Names Pavilion,” “Medicine Master Temple,” and “Kṣitigarbha Temple” have been preliminarily completed. Efforts have also begun to renovate the roads and two major bridges. Currently, the golden statue of “Guanyin Bodhisattva” and her thirty-two manifestations are under clay modeling, but due to a lack of funds, the project has been progressing intermittently. We hereby sincerely appeal to devotees from all over the world for their generous support—a boundlessly meritorious act. All donors will have their names engraved on stone tablets as a lasting memorial.