Da Kaiyuan Temple is located in Xijie, Licheng District, Quanzhou City. It was built in the second year of the Chuigong reign of Emperor Wu Zetian of the Tang Dynasty and has a history of more than 1300 years. It is an important cultural relic and historical site along the southeast coast of China and also a large-scale Buddhist temple in Fujian Province.
The scenic spots of Dakaiyuan Temple along the central axis include prayer pavilion, Baiting, the Shakya ManiHall, Sangpeng Historic Site, Ganlu ordination platform, Sutra Pavilion, etc. In addition, there are stone towers on both sides and two corridors on both sides.
The Heavenly King Hall, also known as the mountain gate of the Great Kaiyuan Temple, was built in 1925 AD. The upper and lower ends of the stone pillar are slightly thinner, while the middle part is thicker, in the shape of a shuttle, in the style of Tang Dynasty stone pillars. There is also a wooden couplet hanging on the stone pillar, which reads' This place is called the Buddhist kingdom, and the streets are full of saints'. This was written by the Dali scholar Zhu Xi of the Southern Song Dynasty and by the modern eminent monk Hongyi.
Cross the mountain gate to the prayer pavilion Pavilion. Standing here, you can see the two towers rising from the ground and the two broad and bright corridors symmetrically arranged on both sides. The East and West Pagodas are famous attractions of Da Kaiyuan Temple, with the "Zhenguo Pagoda" to the east and the "Renshou Pagoda" to the west. They are over 40 meters high and are a pair of tall stone pagodas in China, as well as a symbol and emblem of the ancient city of Quanzhou.
There is a large stone court in front of the worship pavilion for ancient and modern officials and people to worship and perform activities. Whenever there is an activity, it is especially lively. On both sides of the stone courtyard, there are eight large banyan trees, with 11 ancient scripture pillars and small relic pagodas of different forms from the Tang, Song, and Ming dynasties arranged under the trees, as well as two pavilions.
Then is the main building the Shakya ManiHall. The the Shakya ManiHall is also known as the Hall of Hundred Pillars. The original plan for the entire hall was to have one hundred columns, but later due to the need to place Buddha statues and make room for Buddhist worship, the beams were lengthened and the columns were reduced, becoming the "Hundred Column Hall" with 86 columns. Travel tips
Address:No. 176 West Street, Licheng District, Quanzhou City
Telephone:0595-22383285
Opening Hours:6:00-11:00，15:00-18:00
Admission ticket:free