Jiefu Guanyin Temple

　　The Jiefu Guanyin Temple is situated in Dazhigu, Hedong District, Tianjin, at the intersection of Jintang Highway and Dazhigu Middle Road, covering an area of more than 5,000 square meters. Dazhigu is the birthplace of Tianjin, historically home to over 30 temples and nunneries, often referred to as “Dazhigu existed before Tianjin.” The Jiefu Guanyin Temple was built on the site of the former Yaowang Temple at the central platform of Dazhigu, serving as a new spiritual site reconstructed from the Buddhist Jiefu Nunnery relocated from another location. The Jiefu Nunnery, located in Xiaosunzhuang, was established during the Republican era and is a cultural heritage site under Hedong District protection. It currently houses 15 nuns and has grown from an obscure small nunnery after its opening in 1996 into a well-established, bustling, and well-disciplined Buddhist practice venue. Its religious activities, charity work, and dissemination of compassionate deeds have earned it high recognition among devotees both domestically and internationally. Due to its limited space, incomplete halls, overcrowding from many worshippers, impending demolition, and zoning restrictions, with the support and coordination of municipal and district leaders, as well as the strong assistance of Dongda Real Estate Development Company, the Jiefu Nunnery was relocated and rebuilt, and renamed the “Jiefu Guanyin Temple.”

　　In front of the Yuantong Treasure Hall in the temple stands an ancient locust tree over 600 years old (one of the three treasures of the temple). Through the passage of time, the ancient locust tree remains, serving as evidence of the deep history of Zhigu Fort. People praise it as a “sacred tree,” truly the ancestor of the people of Zhigu. A 600-year-old Tree King Bodhisattva will be enshrined in front of the ancient locust tree to protect the sacred site. The Yuantong Treasure Hall houses the Four-Faced Thousand-Armed Guanyin Bodhisattva (one of the three treasures of the temple), standing 8.6 meters tall, crafted from camphor wood and adorned with Japanese gold leaf. The hall will also hang nine plaques, including a Nine-Dragon Plaque, and feature murals depicting the 32 manifestations of Guanyin Bodhisattva, making it unique. The hall can accommodate 450 people for simultaneous chanting. In the courtyard in front of the Yuantong Treasure Hall, a 13-meter-tall, 11-story Thousand-Buddha Pagoda will stand, carved with 1,000 statues of Sakyamuni Buddha. Majestic and solemn, it adds another scenic highlight to the ancient temple of Zhigu.

　　The central axis of the Jiefu Guanyin Temple consists of a Song Dynasty memorial archway, the Mountain Gate Hall, the Skanda Hall, and the Yuantong Treasure Hall. On both sides are the Hall of the Three Saints of the East, the Hall of the Three Saints of the West, the 0 Hall, the Kṣitigarbha Hall, the Yaowang Hall, the Tree King Bodhisattva Hall, the Scripture Depository, the Dining Hall, the Chanting Hall (which can accommodate 300 people), the Dharma Lecture Hall (also an audiovisual hall, which can hold 400 people), the Buddhist Guesthouse (also called the Upper Guest Hall), a computer room, storage rooms, and a large meeting room. The basement of the Yuantong Treasure Hall will house a uniquely designed “Gratitude Hall” in China, where the Three Jewels of the Past, Present, and Future and Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva are enshrined in the main hall’s basement, and up to 10,000 long-term memorial tablets for the deceased can be placed. On the first and fifteenth days of each month, monks perform rites for the deceased to help them find liberation, relief, and rebirth in the Pure Land. The temple’s bell tower and drum tower will be open to the public; they house a 5-ton bronze bell (one of the three treasures of the temple) and a 2-meter-diameter Thunder Sound Drum. Above the bell and drum towers are four pavilions built in the Song Dynasty style, offering a great place for Zen meditation.

　　The construction of the Jiefu Guanyin Temple is based on a tone of simplicity, elegance, uniqueness, cohesion, grandeur, and magnificence. It reflects both historical features and modern style, complementing the nearby Yuan, Ming, and Qing Tianhou Palace. It is bound to become a uniquely distinctive Buddhist practice site, one of the larger nun monasteries in northern China, and a tourist attraction.

　　Address: No. 27, Dazhigu Middle Road, Hedong District

　　Phone: 24160708

Jiefu Guanyin Temple isAAAlevel attraction