Qianming Temple in Guiyang

　　Qianming Temple is situated on Yangming Road by the Nanming River in Guiyang City, Guizhou Province, serving as a significant venue for Buddhist activities in the city. The Guizhou Provincial Buddhist Association and the Guiyang Municipal Buddhist Association are both housed within the temple. Originally built in the late Ming Dynasty, the temple was renovated in the 36th year of the Qianlong reign during the Qing Dynasty (1771), when Chan Master Xiantu resided there to propagate Chan Buddhism. During the late Qing civil unrest, resident monks scattered, and the site was managed by a local gentry member named Shu, who unilaterally renamed it “Shu Family Ancestral Hall.” His two daughters became ordained followers under Chan Master Guangmiao of Qixia Temple, practicing at home while tending to the incense lamps at the hall.

　　In 1932, after Guangmiao completed his tenure at Qixia Temple, the two Shu sisters invited him to reside at their family shrine. Later, during renovations to the meditation rooms, three stone tablets commemorating the 1771 reconstruction of Qianming Temple were unearthed. Based on these, Guangmiao filed a lawsuit with the local court against Shu for unlawfully occupying the temple. With support from notable figures in Guiyang such as Ping Gang and Xiang Yi, Shu was compelled to return the temple, which resumed its original name. Guangmiao served as abbot and raised funds to construct the Amitabha Hall, the main venue for Buddhist ceremonies, housing a 16-foot statue of Amitabha Buddha. He also built a scripture depository containing a 593-volume facsimile of the Song Dynasty-printed Qisha Canon and a 414-volume Faxiag Canon. Behind the Amitabha Hall is the Ksitigarbha Hall. Other facilities, including the abbot’s quarters, guest hall, and monastic dormitories, were also fully developed. Guangmiao held two ordination ceremonies.

　　After Guangmiao’s passing in 1946, Xukuan succeeded as abbot and conducted one full precept ordination and one novice precept ceremony, attracting many monks and nuns from Guiyang and neighboring counties. On major Buddhist holidays and lunar phases, Qianming Temple held initiation rites for the Three Refuges, with dozens or even hundreds participating each time. Major events such as the Buddha’s Birthday and the annual three Guanyin assemblies drew thousands of monastics and lay followers.

　　Qianming Temple has long been a key center for Buddhist activity in Guiyang. During the Anti-Japanese War, eminent monks such as Master Taixu and Chan master Xuyun preached at the temple during their visits, drawing large audiences. In 1943, two wartime training sessions for monks and nuns were held here. In 1944, the monthly Buddhist journal Hai Chao Yin (Voice of the Sea Tide) relocated from Shanghai to Qianming Temple, publishing two issues before moving back. In 1945, Tibetan master Shenglu imparted Esoteric Buddhist teachings at the temple, with initiates including prominent figures such as Wang Xizhong, Shuangqing, and Tuolusheng. In early 1949, the Guizhou Buddhist Association was established at Qianming Temple, issuing membership certificates and badges to local monks and nuns. A Buddhist college was also opened on-site but later closed due to financial difficulties.

　　After the liberation, Qianming Temple fell into disrepair due to age and neglect. During the Cultural Revolution, it suffered severe damage—statues were destroyed, scriptures burned, and monks dispersed. After the Third Plenum of the 11th CPC Central Committee, religious policies were reinstated. Starting in 1983, provincial and municipal governments allocated nearly 1 million RMB to restore the Mahavira Hall, Great Compassion Pavilion, scripture depository, guest hall, dining hall, monastic dorms, office building, and mountain gate. Devotees contributed funds to recast a 2.3-meter-tall statue of Sakyamuni Buddha in the Mahavira Hall, flanked by Ānanda and Mahākāśyapa; behind the hall were statues of Samantabhadra and Manjushri, along with the Eighteen Arhats, all solemn and majestic. Behind the hall, the Great Compassion Pavilion houses a 2.85-meter-tall statue of Thousand-Armed Guanyin, serene and benevolent, with Sudhana and Longnü standing by. Adjacent rooms include guest halls, monastic quarters, and a kitchen. A new three-story scripture depository with upturned eaves was erected, housing the Chinese Buddhist Canon, Dunhuang Canon, Fangshan Stone Scriptures, Taiwan’s Taisho Canon, and around a thousand other Buddhist texts. The lower level includes a Jade Buddha Hall featuring a 1.5-meter jade Buddha from Myanmar. To support Buddhist practice, the temple runs a dharma item shop, while the kitchen provides vegetarian meals and tea snacks for visitors. Around ten resident monks live on-site. On October 15 of the lunar calendar in 1992 (Buddha’s Auspicious Day), a ceremony consecrated the Jade Buddha and celebrated the enthronement of Abbot Zongman.

　　In 1981, Qianming Temple was listed among the first batch of municipal cultural heritage sites in Guiyang. In 1983, it was designated a Guizhou Provincial Cultural Heritage Site and recognized by the State Administration for Religious Affairs as a nationally significant Han Chinese Buddhist temple, opening to the public. Over the past decade, it has hosted thousands of international visitors from countries such as the US, UK, Germany, Austria, Denmark, Canada, and Luxembourg, as well as compatriots from Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan, and has conducted numerous Buddhist services for them. Notable former abbots include Master Xingzhi and Master Guangmiao. The current abbot, Master Zongman, born in 1923 in Xinhui, Guangdong, serves as a city political advisor, city people’s congress representative, board member of the Buddhist Association of China, vice president of the Guizhou Buddhist Association, and president of the Guiyang Buddhist Association. The current managing abbot, Master Miaole, born in 1962 in Xiwen, Guizhou, is a board member of the Guizhou Buddhist Association and a political advisor for Nanming District.

　　Address: By the Nanming River, Yangming Road, Nanming District, Guiyang City

　　Type: Temple

　　Recommended visiting time: About 1 hour

　　Ticket information:

　　Free admission.