It is rumored that in the 2nd century AD, the king of the Peacock Dynasty in India, Ashoka, was extremely buddhist and carried it forward, and during his reign, he not only sorted out the Buddhist scriptures and spread them, but also shocked them by taking out the Relics of the Buddha, distributing them to believers all over the world and building 84,000 ancient temples, and China also received 19 relics and built stupas.
Over time, of the 19 temples in China, only Ningbo Ashoka Temple has survived to this day, and it is also the only existing ancient temple in China named after Ashoka. Perhaps because of this name, Ashoka Temple still attracts many tourists to punch in and worship the Buddha even if it is far from the city.
I also chose to take a walk-away trip to Ningbo Ashoka out of curiosity, Ningbo Ashoka Temple is located under the peak of the foothills of Baodong Taibai Mountain, so I chose to take the subway under Baodong Station, and then walk 15 minutes to the scenic gate.
Fortunately, while many monasteries are becoming more and more commercialized, Ningbo Ashoka Temple is still free to tourists, which is indeed a clear stream. Looking at the history of Ashoka Temple, we can understand that this is an ancient temple that was built in the third year of Emperor Taikang of the Western Jin Dynasty, and now has more than 1700 years.
For more than 1700 years, Ashoka Temple has undergone vicissitudes such as relocation, Liangwu Emperor gave the "Ashoka Temple", Jian Zhen once lived here, the Buddhist extermination movement in the first year of Huichang, many fires, repeated reconstruction and restoration, etc., but after several destructions, Ningbo Ashoka Temple still presents a clean and solemn and atmospheric style.
The existing Ashoka Temple was rebuilt in 1988 and has a total area of 124,100 square meters and more than 600 halls, halls and buildings. The central axis is from the bottom up to the Mountain Gate, the Ershan Gate, the Release Pond, the Heavenly King Hall, the Daxiong Treasure Hall, the Relic Hall, the Dharma Hall and the Scripture Building. There are side halls on the left and right sides, of which there are 361 on the right and 264 on the left. Many of them have ancient buildings from the Yuan to the Qing Dynasty, and such a huge architectural complex has also made it an extremely famous temple in Zhejiang and even China.
Due to the large number of buildings, if you want to enjoy the highlights of Ashoka Temple in a short period of time, you may wish to focus on the horse and stop to share a few tips, I believe it will definitely let you appreciate the charm of this ancient temple.
The first feature of Ashoka Temple: The West Pagoda, according to the data, it was built in the Tang Dynasty, rebuilt in the Yuan Dynasty, and later dynasties have repair records, but the main body still retains the style of the Yuan Dynasty - brick and wood structure, imitation pavilion style, it is also one of the only two remaining Yuan Pagodas in Zhejiang Province.
The second feature of Ashoka Temple: the Daxiong Treasure Hall on the top of the mountain with seven wide eaves, in addition to the glass painted sculptures of dragon fish playing beads, the lower eaves can also see the Qianlong Emperor's imperial pen and the good lion roar.
The third feature of Ashoka Temple: after the Daxiong Treasure Hall is the Relic Hall, which was built in 1678, as a place to enshrine the relics of Shakyamuni Shakyamuni, it is said that there is only one such place in the country, so it has also become the iconic hall of Ningbo Ashoka Temple. The plaque in front of the hall, "The Hall of Miaosheng", was written by Song Xiaozong, a good emperor who rehabilitated Yue Fei and built the Yue Wang Temple by the West Lake in Hangzhou.
The fourth feature of Ashoka Temple: Due to its important status, the top of its hall uses golden glazed tiles that can only be used with royal approval, and in the center of the Ashoka Temple Relic Hall is enshrined seven treasures inlaid pagoda pavilion, the tower body is blue, five floors and four corners, and the relic beads are hung in it.
The 5th feature of Ashoka Temple: The stone carvings of the four heavenly kings can be seen on the back wall of the relics hall, which were originally the stone carvings of the west pagoda of Ashoka Temple, and the statues of the four heavenly kings use a variety of techniques such as high relief carving, through carving, and skeleton carving, which can be called the highest level of stone carvings in the Yuan Dynasty statues in Ningbo and even Zhejiang. The Four Heavenly Kings are 1 meter high and 0.6 meters wide, or wear armor, or hold a cymbal, or step on the auspicious clouds, or hold a sword, etc., although mutilated, they still show the characteristics of the stone carvings of the Yuan Dynasty.
The 5 specialties are enough to make you travel thousands of miles, but more exciting Thanh Ashoka Temple in Ningbo often requires personal experience, especially when you come to the Saitang at noon to enjoy an authentic and delicious Iftar meal as a sign of respect.
Ashoka Temple Travel Tips:
Tickets: Free and open
How to get there: Ningbo Railway Station Take Rail Transit Line 4 to Daqingqiao Station, transfer to Rail Transit Line 1 (Xiapu direction) and get off at Baozhuang Station, then walk 1.2 kilometers.