Nanputuo Temple

Nanputuo was founded in the Tang and rebuilt through the Qing, taking its name from a comparison with Putuoshan, the Guanyin island off Zhejiang: this is the southern Putuo. It sits at the foot of Wulao Peak with halls rising up the slope, backed by rock carved with enormous characters, and reached by paths climbing past a pagoda pair. The Great Compassion Hall holds four Guanyin figures facing outward in different forms. The temple's vegetarian restaurant has a reputation across Fujian and beyond, serving dishes that imitate meat and seafood in appearance and name. Xiamen University adjoins the temple, and its campus is among the most attractive in China.

History

Buddhist monks made this place a temple in the last years of the Tang dynasty; it was dismantled under the Yuan and restored as a temple under the Ming, and in 1684 General Shi Lang paid for its rebuilding and enlargement, installing a hall to Guanyin and naming it after Mount Putuo in Zhejiang, her sacred island. In 1924 Master Hui Quan became its first abbot and in 1925 founded the Minnan Buddhist College, where scholar monks such as Hong Yi and Yin Shun taught; the temple was renovated in the 1980s (Wikipedia, South Putuo Temple).

The main sights

• The hillside halls - the temple rising toward Wulao Peak.
• The Great Compassion Hall - four Guanyin figures facing outward.
• The rock inscriptions - large carved characters on the cliffs behind.
• The vegetarian restaurant - the temple kitchen known across the region.

When to go

October to April for mild weather; summer is hot and humid with typhoon risk. Buddhist festival days bring worshippers. The temple is free but may require online registration at busy periods.

Before you go

The temple is very busy, particularly at weekends and holidays. Incense smoke is thick. The restaurant queues at meal times. Photography inside halls is restricted.

Nearby

Xiamen University adjoins; Gulangyu is a short ferry ride.

Key facts