The Jade Buddha Temple
During the rule of emperor Guang Xu in the Qing Dynasty, a Buddhist abbot named Hui Gen went on a pilgrimage to Tibet. After Tibet, Hui Gen traveled to Burma where he met Chen Jun-Pu. Jun-Pu, being of Chinese descent, donated five jade Buddha statues to Hui Gen, who transported them back to Shanghai. In Shanghai, he built Yufo Chan Si (Jade Buddha Chan Temple) in 1882 to house two of the statues, and the temple was later rebuilt in 1918.
One interesting fact about the temple is that during the Cultural Revolution, the monks protected the temple by plastering large pictures of Mao Zedong on the wall. The guards could not destroy the temple without also destroying the image of Mao, and thus the temple was spared from destruction.
The layout of the temple is pretty standard. Honestly, I’ve seen so many temples in China by now that they all seem the same. However there is usually some kind of unique aspect or twist to each individual one that makes it worth seeing. This is definitely true of the Jade Buddha Temple. Throughout the place you can find plenty of small statues and carvings that I found really cool. Most weren’t spectacular works of art, but I think the sum of the entire collection was pretty neat. Especially considering I haven’t seen the likes of these in most other temples.
The temple is pretty small so there are really only two worship halls: the Chamber of Four Heavenly Kings and the Grand Hall. The Chamber is much like any other you might have seen in a Buddhist Temple. The Grand Hall is definitely worth a look as it is filled with plenty of different statues, most of which are very interesting. It’s true that once again you get your standard fare found in most temples, but you also get some unique stuff as well.
To view the Jade Buddha is an extra 10 RMB (a very common and very annoying occurrence in China) and is found at the back of the temple on the second floor. Honestly, I wasn’t too impressed. I’ve seen Jade Buddhas before. I’ve seen Giant Buddhas before. If you’ve never seen one I suppose it’s a good idea to check it out, but the fact that they jab you for an extra 10 RMB after you’re already in the temple to see a statue that’s not all that overwhelming is a bit of a let down. But like I wrote, that’s a common occurrence in China.
If you’ve never seen a Jade Buddha before, go check it out. But if you’re like me and have seen plenty of them, you can skip this one. But the temple on it’s own is nice and I enjoyed myself. The plethora of small sculptures and statues really stood out for me as a great reason to visit this small temple nestled in the middle of Shanghai.
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