There are many things that people associate with China. Shopping bargains, the Great Wall, Chinese food, kung fu and trade to name a few have long since spread China’s popularity as a venue not only for tourism or gustatory delights, but also for business. Yet, amidst this seemingly industrially focused country, there is still an unwavering thing that most Chinese have in common: a reverence and devotion to their faith.
Temples old and new may be found through out the country. People lighting up incense sticks and sending their prayers in front of fragrant plumes of smoke in front of altars of offerings is a very common sight when visiting China’s temples. Even foreigners who get to visit the temples may be seen touching incense sticks to their foreheads as they bow in front of the deity sending up wishes and appeals may be observed.
Standing as symbols of a culture’s faith and reverence for forbears and higher deities, the Chinese Temples never fail to elicit awe at the beauty of their architecture and the picture of living devotion as exhibited by the Temple goers.
Kong Miào (Qufu)
Built in honor of the Wise Sage Confucius, the Kong Miao is one of China’s greatest classical architectural complexes, and is the largest and most magnificent of the hundreds of temples around the country honoring the sage. Greatly enlarged since it was originally built in the Sage’s hometown in 478 B.C., it has a series of gates and buildings aligned on a north-south axis and decorated with imperial flourishes and design touches like yellow-tiled roofs and dragon-entwined pillars.
Màiji Shan Shíku (Tianshui)
Known to be China’s prettiest cave temple sites, this haystack-shaped mountain of soft red rock, covered in brilliant green foliage, is the only one where statuary has been added to the cave walls rather than carved out of them. Views from the stairs and walkways lacing the cliffs can be really spectacular.
Zhèngdìng (Hébei)
Within a short walking distance of each other, are some of China’s oldest surviving unimproved temple buildings. One of which houses a 90-foot high multi-armed bronze of Guanyin, and a collection of ancient pagodas so varied it’s almost as if they’ve been set out specifically to surprise you.
Jokhang Temple (Lhasa)
Recognized to be the spiritual heart of Tibetan Buddhism. With this temple, one trip is not enough. The intense devotion of pilgrims are demonstrated as they go around the temple, prostrating themselves repeatedly across cobblestones made slippery by centuries of burning yak butter lamps, and rubbing their foreheads against the statuary in the dim, smoky interior. A second trip, preferably in the afternoon, is well advised for you to get the opportunity to take a closer look at the ancient images they venerate and demonstrate so much faith and devotion to.
Temple of Heaven (Beijing)
The circular Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, one of the finest achievements of Míng architecture, is almost as well-known as a symbol of Beijing as the Tian’an Mén. The three-tiered sacrificial altar of plain stone is thought by many to be the most sublime object of beauty in China.
Mògao Shíku (Dunhuáng)
The biggest, best-preserved, and most significant site of Buddhist statuary and frescoes in all China, with the broadest historical range, the Mògao Caves, in their tranquil desert setting, should be your choice if you only have time to see just one temple cave site.
Yonghé Gong (Beijing)
This temple was formerly the personal residence of the Qing Yongzhèng emperor before he moved into the Forbidden City. Now converted into a temple, several impressive incense burners are scattered throughout the golden-roofed complex, also known as the Lama Temple. A 60-foot tall sandalwood statue of Maitreya, the future Buddha, is housed in and fills the last building.
Baoding Shan (Dàzú)
Artistically among the subtlest and most sophisticated of China’s Buddhist grottoes, these Sòng dynasty caves are situated around a horseshoe-shaped cove, at the center of which is lush forest.
Lóngmén Shíku (Luòyáng)
About 2,300 caves and niches with more than 2,800 inscriptions and over 100,000 Buddhist statues are spread across two hills and 400 years in time.
Yúngang Shíku (Shanxi)
These are the earliest Buddhist caves carved in China. Most were hollowed out over a 65-year period between 460 and 524. Viewed as a whole, they show a movement and evolution from Indian and Central Asian artistic models to greater reliance on Chinese traditions.