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龙华寺
Address: 2853 Longhua Road, Xuhui District, Shanghai.
上海市徐汇区龙华路2853号
龙华寺 means the Temple of the Dragon's Splendor. It is a Buddhist temple dedicated to Maitreya, the future Buddha who is expected to appear when the teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha have disappeared.
It is located in the Xuhui District 徐汇区 in Shanghai.
Although most of the buildings are of later construction, the temple has preserved architectural aspects of the Chan (Zen) school of the Song Dynasty. It is the largest and most authentic Buddhist monastery in Shanghai.
Visit to Longhua Temple
Longhua Temple covers an area of 2 hectares. Its main axis is oriented north-south and is 194 meters long. The tallest building is the Longhua Pagoda, which stands at 40.4 meters.
The style of Longhua Temple is that of Chan (Zen) Buddhism of the Song Dynasty, known as the Five Halls Sangharama style. Five main buildings are arranged along the main north-south axis.
From the entrance, the five buildings are respectively:
The Hall of Maitreya 弥勒殿 :
The Hall of the Heavenly Kings 天王殿 , which houses the statues of the Four Heavenly Kings:
The Precious Hall of the Great Sage 大雄宝殿 is the main building:
It houses the statues of Shakyamuni (the historical Buddha) with two disciples:
The Hall of the Three Saints 三圣殿 :
It houses the Buddha Amitabha and the Bodhisattvas Avalokiteśvara and Mahāsthāmaprāpta:
The Abbot's Room 方丈室 is a reading room and official reception hall:
The Longhua Pagoda 龙华塔 is located outside Longhua Temple. It is an octagonal pagoda made of brick and wood, six stories high. Originally built during the Three Kingdoms period, the current structure dates from the Northern Song Dynasty. It has undergone many modifications throughout history. The pagoda is fragile and is not open to the public:
