QUANZHOU - Kaiyuan Temple, the largest Buddhist temple in Fujian province 开元寺

Kaiyuan Temple ( 开元寺) is a Buddhist temple located in West Street, and is considered as the largest Buddhist temple in Fujian province with an area of 78,000 square metres. The central figures of veneration in the temple are the Five Tathāgathas from Chinese Esoteric Buddhism who are enshrined in the temple's Mahavira Hall. The temple is also one of few in China to contain Hindu monuments, left there by traders from Southern India. It was originally built in 685 or 686 during the Tang dynasty (618–907). The temple situated in the Mulberry garden of landlord Huang Shougong (黄守恭) who was said to dream of a monk begging land from him for building a temple. He donated his garden and changed it into a temple with the name of "Lotus Temple" (莲花寺). In 738 in the Tang dynasty, it was renamed "Kaiyuan Temple", which is still in use now. Behind its main hall "Mahavira Hall", there are some columns with fragments as well is vigraha (icon) of Lord Vishnu from a Vishnu temple built in 1283 by the Tamil Ainnurruvar Valanjiyar Merchant community in Quanzhou. Nearly all of the carvings were carved with greenish-gray granite, which was widely available in the nearby hills and used in the region's local architecture. Along the central axis are the Four Heavenly Kings Hall, Mahavira Hall, Sweet Dew Altar of Precepts and Buddhist Texts Library.
Hall of Four Heavenly Kings. It was built in the Tang dynasty (618–907). It serves as the Shanmen of the temple. In front of the hall, a wooden plaque with a couplet is hung on the hall. It says "Here is the place the ancients called "Buddha State", all are saints in the streets" (此地古称佛国，满街都是圣人). It was composed by Song dynasty scholar Zhu Xi and inscribed by eminent monk Hong Yi.
The Mahavira Hall (大雄宝殿) was originally built in 686 in the Tang dynasty (618–907) and the extant buildings are relics of the late Ming dynasty . The hall preserved the majestic and impressive architectural style of the Tang dynasty. The gilded copper statues of the Five Tathāgatas - Akshobhya, Amoghasiddhi, Vairocana, Amitābha and Ratnasambhava, which were made during the Five dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (907–960), are enshrined in middle of the hall .
Zhenguo Pagoda (镇国塔) is a five-storey wooden pagoda first built in 865 in the Tang dynasty. The 48.24-metre pagoda was octagonal with five storeys. Every storey is carved with sixteen reliefs with a total of 80 vivid human figures.
The Renshou Pagoda (仁寿塔) was built in 917 in the Later Liang dynasty (907–923). In 1114 in the Song dynasty, it was renamed "Renshou Pagoda" by the Emperor Huizong. It is 44.06-metre (144.6 ft) high and has the similar with the Zhenguo Pagoda.
Source Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaiyuan...)

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