What a place to see – Jade Buddha Temple in Shanghai, China

In the western part of Shanghai, a very modern and flourishing city, there is a venerable and famous Buddhist temple, Jade Buddha Temple. As with most modern Chinese Buddhist temples, the current temple draws from both the Pure Land and Chan traditions of Mahayana Buddhism. It was founded in 1882 with two jade Buddha statues imported to Shanghai from Burma by sea. These were a sitting Buddha (1.95 metres tall, 3 tonnes), and a smaller reclining Buddha representing Buddha’s death. The temple was destroyed during the revolution that overthrew the Qing Dynasty. Fortunately the jade Buddha statues were saved and a new temple was built on the present site in 1928. It was named the Jade Buddha Temple. The temple now also contains a much larger reclining Jade Buddha, donated from Singapore, and visitors may mistake this larger sculpture for the original, smaller piece.

At the time emperor Guang Xu in the Qing Dynasty (1875-1908) ruled China, Hui Gen, a Mount Putuo abbot went on a pilgrimage to Tibet via the two famous Chinese mountains Mount Wutai and Mount Emei. First he goes to Tibet and then he contiduen his jorney to Burma. By this time Mr. Chen Jun-Pu, an overseas Chinese resident in Burma, donated five Jade statues of Buddha to Hui Gen, who transported two of them back to Jiang-wan, Shanghai. Here Hui Gen had a temple built with collected from various sorces money, mostly of them donated, and died shortly thereafter. This temple was occupied during the 1911 uprising, and the statues were moved to Maigen Road.

An Abbot by the name of Ke Chen later had a new temple built on land donated by a Mr. Shen. The construction took ten years, and lasted from 1918-1928. Ke Chen also invited Reverend Di Xian from Tian Tai mountain to come and lecture on Buddhism in a magnificent ceremony. In 1956, a ceremony was held at the temple by the Shanghai Buddhist Association to celebrate the 2500th anniversary of Gautama Buddha’s enlightenment. In 1966, during the cultural revolution, the monks made a living by selling handicrafts. Monk Zhizhi Xuan and others made a trip to Dunhuang via Xinjiang In 1985. Shortly after their return regular scripture lectures, meditation and other features of temple life were resumed.

The two precious jade Buddhist statues are not only rare cultural relics but also porcelain artworks. Both the Sitting Buddha and the Recumbent Buddha are carved with whole white jade. The sparkling and crystal-clear white jade gives the Buddhas the beauty of Jade Buddha in Jade Buddha Temple, Shanghaisanctity and make them more vivid. The Sitting Buddha is 190 centimeters high and encrusted by the agate and the emerald, portraying the Buddha at the moment of his meditation and enlightenment. The Recumbent Buddha is 96 centimeters long, lying on the right side with the right hand supporting the head and the left hand placing on the left leg, this shape is called the ‘lucky repose’. The sedate face shows the peaceful mood of Sakyamuni when he left this world. In the temple there is also another Recumbent Buddha which is four meters long and was brought from Singapore by the tenth abbot of the temple in 1989. Furthermore there are many other ancient paintings and Buddhist scriptures distributed in the different halls of the temple.

Although the history of the Jade Buddha Temple is not very long, the old-time and classical architectural style makes the temple unique and inimitable in this modern city. Devajara Hall, Mahavira Hall and the Jade Buddha Tower make up the main structure of the temple and at sides are the Kwan-yin Dian Hall, the Amitabha Dian Hall, the Zen Tang Hall, the Dining-Room and the Recumbent Buddha Hall.

Chamber of Four Heavenly Kings – The Chamber of Four Heavenly Kings contains the statues of Maitreya, Wei Tuo Bodhisattva and the Four Heavenly Kings, who represent favorable circumstance. The chamber is located on the southern-edge, or ‘front’ of the temple.

Grand Hall – Also called the Great Hall, this hall contains many statues.
* Three Golden Buddhas. The central sculpture is of Gautama Buddha, the left Amitabha and the right Bhaisajyaguru.
* Gods of the Twenty Heavens. The Gods of the Twenty Heavens, covered in gold, line the eastern and western sides of the Grand Hall.
* 18 Arhats. 18 unique golden Arhats stand in two groups of nine.
* Guanyin, Shen Cai and his 53 teachers. A large golden statue of Guanyin stands on at northern entrance to the Great Hall, with Shen Cai at her side and sculptures representing the 53 teachers of his life above.

Jade Buddha Chamber – The Jade Buddha Chamber is in the northern section of the temple, on the second floor. A fee of 10 yuan is charged to ascend to it. Some additional Buddhist sculptures are also viewable in the antechamber.

Public restaurant – The public restaurant is located on level two at the eastern edge of the temple and equipped with its own street entrance. Open daily, it serves a range of noodle dishes for five yuan per bowl, the most popular of which is ‘double mushroom noodles’ . Other dishes are served at moderate prices. Tickets are sold by color and this ticket is turned in inside the main eating room and your soup is then delivered to your table which you might share with others. Upstairs is a much more upscale restaurant at much higher prices.

Other – The temple also contains a private restaurant for the use of monks and temple volunteers, which is at the western edge of the temple complex. There is a visitor services office adjacent to the southern entrance, and a Buddhist library is also on the premises.

The Jade Buddha Temple is a good place to go whether you are a Buddhist or not, the peaceful and transcendent atmosphere adds a kind of richness to our busy modern society. Be aware that there is an admission fee of CNY 15, which is about $1.88, and it works from 8:30 to 17:00. Here is a Google Earth Placemark of the temple

and you can reach it by using following lines of Shanghay’s trasportation system.19, 14, 36, 54, 63, 68, 76, 105, 106, 112, 113, 138, 206, 223, 506, 516, 550, 563, 738, 768, 830, 837, 866, 922