The most expensive temple in the country, worth more than 5 billion, is said to cost 2.8 billion yuan to build, and the land price is 3 billion. Located on Nanjing West Road, the downtown area known as the "magic capital", it is surrounded by skyscrapers.
During the day, there are tourists of all colors from all over the world, the shopping malls are full of people, and the streets are full of traffic; At night, the roofs and facades of classical buildings and modern high-rises are illuminated and illuminated, where traditional temperament meets modern modernity. In this international metropolis, on the most prosperous Nanjing West Road, in this noisy commercial center, in this busy city, there is such a solemn and resplendent temple, which is the legendary Jing'an Temple that stretches for 1,700 years. It is really "red dust when the door is opened, and between mountains and rivers when the door is closed".
If the century-old history of Shanghai looks at the Bund, then the thousand-year history is the ancient temple of Jing'an. Its history can be traced back to the tenth year of the Three Kingdoms Sun Wu Chiwu (247), and its original name was Hudu Chongxuan Temple. In the first year of the Song Dynasty (1008), it was renamed Jing'an Temple. In the ninth year of Jiading of the Southern Song Dynasty (1216), Jing'an Temple moved from the banks of the Wusong River to the Inner Lupu Boiling Well Bangbian (now Nanjing West Road), before the founding of Shanghai.
Jing'an Temple has been weathered for a long time, and I don't know how many times it has been built or destroyed. During the Cultural Revolution, the ancient temple of Jing'an was doomed, the abbot Gen-la Zhisong was persecuted, all Buddha statues and magic tools were destroyed, the monks were forced to return to the laity, and the entire temple was converted into a factory. After the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee, the religious policy was gradually implemented, and in 1984, the Shanghai Buddhist Association established the Jing'an Temple Restoration Committee, which was restored according to the original historical appearance, until 1990, the restoration project of the Jing'an Ancient Temple was basically completed.
With a total construction area of 22,000 square meters, the entire temple forms a pattern of front temple and back tower, consisting of three main buildings: Daxiong Treasure Hall, Tianwang Hall and Three Holy Temples, and is the oldest Buddhist temple in Shanghai.
The Jing'an Temple, where incense flourishes, welcomes devotees in Shanghai's prime location every day. Today, it is still a diamond location in Shanghai, not only named after the Jing'an Temple, but also interpreting the realm "Jing'an" pursued by the ancient sages.