Yuantong Temple in Conghua

Yuantong Temple in Conghua

Yuantong Temple is located in Lianxing Community, Jiangpu Street, Conghua, nestled along the Liuxi River, known as the “Mother River.” It was originally the Lianxing Guanyin Hall. Funded by a philanthropic local from Conghua, the temple (then the Guanyin Hall) was first built before 1920 AD. After years of construction, it was eventually completed, covering an area of over 3 mu (more than 2,000 square meters) with a building area of over 800 square meters. It housed over 10 resident monks and staff, and featured complete facilities including large and small Guanyin Buddha statues, activity spaces, making it a fully functional Buddhist venue. After its completion (as the Guanyin Hall), the temple gained widespread fame, attracting worshippers from all directions, and flourished with incense offerings. During the Japanese invasion of China in 1938, it was bombed by Japanese aircraft, leaving only ruins of the temple (then the Guanyin Hall).

After the reform and opening-up period, with economic and social development—especially following the introduction and implementation of Guangzhou’s “Northern Optimization” policy—Conghua, as a satellite city of Guangzhou, developed rapidly, and the living standards of its residents continued to improve. To meet the religious needs of local devotees, starting in 1985, older generations of Buddhists, worshippers, and devout followers, in the spirit of compassion and the Bodhisattva path of saving all beings, spontaneously organized efforts to place small porcelain Guanyin Buddha statues at the original site of the Guanyin Hall. These were offered for public worship, prayers for family harmony, health and longevity, and peace for the nation. In 1991, on the 19th day of the sixth lunar month, Buddhist devotees gathered to discuss and prepare donations for renovating the old Guanyin Hall site. On the 15th day of the ninth lunar month, the restoration was completed and the Guanyin statue was enshrined, and on the 19th day of the ninth lunar month, the birthday of Guanyin, the site was opened to the public.

The restored Guanyin Hall covered an area of about 600 square meters, with a building area of approximately 250 square meters and an open activity space of around 200 square meters, with a total investment of about 350,000 yuan. Buddhists, worshippers, and devotees who came to the temple (then the Guanyin Hall) for worship came from Conghua, Fogang, Guangzhou and its suburbs, Zengcheng, Huadu, Foshan, Nanhai, Panyu, and other cities and counties, as well as from Hong Kong and Macau. The flow of worshippers was continuous. On the three major joyous days of Guanyin—the days of her birth, ordination, and enlightenment (the 19th days of the second, sixth, and ninth lunar months)—the number of worshippers visiting the temple often exceeded 1,000. Due to the limited activity space inside the hall, these three major days each year saw crowded, bustling scenes with people shoulder to shoulder.

In April 2008, after approval by the Guangzhou Municipal Ethnic and Religious Affairs Bureau, Yuantong Temple (formerly the Lianxing Guanyin Hall) was officially registered as a religious activity venue. Upon the suggestion of Venerable Yaozhi, President of the Guangzhou Buddhist Association, it was renamed Yuantong Temple, the name it retains to this day.

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