Jingyuan Faquan Temple
( chinadaily.com.cn )
Updated: 2013-12-11
Faquan Temple in Gansu province is said to enjoy the same fame as Famen Temple in Shaanxi province. Faquan Temple, also called Hongshan Shiya Temple, is a national 3A scenic spot, Gansu provincial cultural relic protection unit and provincial forest park.
Located in the southeast of Jingyuan county, Faquan Temple is about 70 kilometers away from Baiyin city. Integrating the essence of Taoism, Buddhism and Confucianism, the temple is also a tourist attraction with outstanding architectures, sculptures and gardening arts.
Covering an area of 3.86 square kilometers, the temple ranks 39 among the top 100 Buddhist temples in China. It also boosts the first of the eight scenic spots in Jingyuan county.
With a history of more than 1,400 years, Faquan Temple was initiated in the Northern Wei Dynasty (AD 386-534), with three springs gushing from the mountainside. Thirty-six holes remain in the temple, whose scale has been enlarged after a lot of destruction and restoration.
On the eighth day of the fourth lunar month every year, the folk culture tourism festival and other religious activities will be held in Faquan Temple, and on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month, the temple will hold the Zhongyuan dharma assembly.
Jingyuan Faquan Temple |