Chongqing Arhat Temple

The ancient Buddhist monastery Arhat Temple, which is in the busiest downtown area of Chongqing, a key Buddhist temple in the Han people region, is a historic site protection unit of the Municipal level.

This temple began to be built in 1064-1067 when Emperor Zhiping of the Northern Song Dynasty reigned over China and in 1885 in the Qing Dynasty Monk Longfa reconstructed the Temple and sculptured the figures in imitation of the Arhat Hall in Baoguang Temple in Xindu, and he resumed the former name of the temple Arhat Temple earned in the Chenghua years of the Ming Dynasty. Though the Zhiping Temple does not exist any more we can trace its former existence form the present name of Zhiping Alley. During the Anti-Japanese War and the Ten Years Upheaval(1966-1976), the temple was ruined for the second time. The present Arhats were molded in spring of 1986. Now the construction work of the Depositary Of Buddhist Texts and the Meditation Room have just been finished, and the carving and molding are under way.

If a tourist visits the temple, he will first see the Four Guardians of the World, the Stele Kiosk of the Ming Dynasty, the ancient Buddist cliff inscription of the Northern Song Dynasty, then stepping into the Temple proper and climbing some stairs he will view the imposing Sakyamuni Hall, and lastly he will visit the Depositary and the meditation room. There is also a vegetarian restaurant and a stand for sales of incense and candles.

Chongqing Guide