Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
A good itinerary is to see the northern cluster in the morning, return to town for lunch, and
in the afternoon head for the Pule Si and Sledgehammer Rock, a bizarre protuberance that
dominates the eastern horizon of the town.
Puning Temple
普宁寺 , pŭníng sì • Daily 8am-5.30pm • April-Oct 80, Nov-March 60 • Bus #6 from centre
Puning Temple is the only working temple in Chengde, with shaven-headed Mongolian
monks manning the altars and trinket stalls, and though the atmosphere is not especially spir-
itual - it's usually clamorous with day-trippers, here to see the huge Guanyin statue - the
temple and its grounds exude undeniable charm.
Puning Si was built in 1755 to commemorate the Qing victory over Mongolian rebels at
Junggar in northwest China, and is based on the oldest Tibetan temple, the Samye. Like tra-
ditional Tibetan buildings, it lies on the slope of a mountain facing south, though the layout
of the front is typically Han, with a gate hall, stele pavilions, a bell and a drum tower, a Hall
of Heavenly Kings, and the Mahayana Hall.
Hall of Heavenly Kings and East Hall
In the Hall of Heavenly Kings , the statue of a fat, grinning monk holding a bag depicts Qi
Ci, a tenth-century character with a jovial disposition, believed to be a reincarnation of the
Buddha. In the East Hall , the central statue, flanked by arhat statues, depicts Ji Gong, a
Song-dynasty monk who was nicknamed Crazy Ji for eating meat and being almost always
drunk, but who was much respected for his kindness to the poor.
Mahayana Hall
The rear section of the temple, separated from the front by a wall, comprises 27 Tibetan-style
rooms laid out symmetrically, with the Mahayana Hall in the centre. Some of the buildings
are actually solid (the doors are false), suggesting that the original architects were more con-
cerned with appearances than function. The hall itself is dominated by the 23m-high wooden
statueofGuanyin , the Goddess of Mercy. She has 42 arms with an eye in the centre of each
palm, and three eyes on her face, which symbolize her ability to see into the past, present and
future. The hall has two raised entrances, and it's worth looking at the statue from these upper
viewpoints as they reveal new details, such as the eye sunk in her belly button, and the little
Buddha sitting on top of her head.
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