Kaifeng Chancellor's Temple, Henan Province China

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The Chancellor's Temple

The Chancellor's Temple at Kaifeng, Henan Province is a famous temple and has a history of 2000 years. It was build as a temple in the early South and North Dynasty (420-581A.D.) named Jianguo Temple. In the Tang Dynasty (618-907A.D.), when Emperor Lidan (710-712A.D.) was on the post, it got the name of Chancellor's Temple.

In the Warring Period (475B.C.-221B.C.), Chancellor's Temple was the real estate of Prince Wei. It was rebuild as a huge temple in the Northern Qi Period (550-577A.D.). During the Tang Dynasty and the Song Dynasty, Chancellor's Temple got its best time, covering an area of 545mu and today an area of 30mu. Many visitors come here in a tour of inspection.

The Chancellor's Temple owns the main building such as the Hall of Mahavira (great hero), Hall of Heaven, Hall of Collecting Buddhist Volumes, Glazed Hall of 8 Eaves, Hall of Clock, East and West Pavilions. The Hall of Mahavira is the most important structure, decorated with dragons, covered with yellow and green glazed titles.

The statue of Sakyamuni (563BC-483BC) in the hall and groups of pagodas are quite splendid and magnificent. The inner pavilion of the Glazed Hall is 16.9 meters high, displayed a 7-meter high Lady Buddha ("Avalokitsvara") made of the main branch of gingko of 1,000 years old.

There are bronze statues of 500 arhats in the Hall of Buddhist. The huge clock in the Hall of Clock weighs over 10,000jin (11,000lbs), set up in Emperor Qianlong (1736-1796A.D.), Ch'ing Dynasty, and now is one of the 8 famous scenic spots in Kaifeng.

Time goes by fast, today, the Chancellor's Temple has been there for more than 2000 years. The Buddhist culture and special structure of Buddhist temple make Chancellor's Temple quite particular and much different from others.