Jing’an - Shanghai - page 146

Great Treasure Hall
Festooned with red lanterns and paved with slabs etched with lotus flowers, the first court-
yard leads to the twin-eaved Great Treasure Hall, where worshippers pray to the past,
present and future Buddhas, which are seated on splendidly carved thrones. Also lodged
within the main hall are the temple's drum and bell, which would normally be hung within
separate towers.
Jade Buddha Hall
Follow the right-hand corridor past the Hall of Heavenly Kings and the Guanyin Hall to
arrive at the Jade Buddha Hall (separate admission ¥10) . The absolute centrepiece of the
temple is the 1.9m-high pale-green jade Buddha, which is seated upstairs. Visitors are not
able to approach the statue but can admire it from a distance. Photographs are not permit-
ted.
Ancestral Hall
On your right as you exit the Jade Buddha Hall is the Ancestral Hall, where Buddhist ser-
vices are held. Turning around and heading back towards the entrance will then take you
past a similarly elegant jade reclining Buddha , opposite a larger copy made from
marble, which originated in Singapore.
Top Tips
› In February, during the Lunar New Year, the temple is very busy, as some 20,000 Chinese Buddhists throng
here to pray for prosperity.
› The surrounding shops and hawkers sell everything you need to generate good fortune, including bundles of
spirit money and incense sticks.
› Look for statues of Guanyin, the goddess of mercy, throughout the temple. One is located at the rear of the
Great Treasure Hall; she also has her own hall on the far side of the first courtyard.