China - February 17th

Now the days are passing quickly as we realize that we only have a few more days to see Shanghai and fit in dinners with Ying's family. Today we are going to walk to the Longhau Temple which is about 20 minutes from JoJo's home.


Although most of the present-day buildings of the Longhau Temple date from later reconstructions, the temple preserves the architectural design of a Song Dynasty monastery of the Buddhist Chan sect. It is the largest, most authentic and complete ancient temple complex in the city of Shanghai. There are 5 main halls are arranged along a central north-south pointing axis. From the entrance, the buildings are:
The Maitreya Hall housing a statue of Maitreya buddha. The Heavenly King Hall housing statues of the Four Heavenly Kings.

The Grand Hall of the Great Sage is the main hall, housing statues of the historical Buddha (Shakyamuni) and two disciples. At the back of the hall is a base relief carving, including a depiction of Guanyin, or the Buddistava Avalokiteśvara in his female manifestation. Around the front portion are arranged the twenty Guardians of Buddhist Law, and around the back the sixteen principal arhats. The hall also features an ancient bell cast in 1586, during the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty. The Three Sages Hall houses statues of the Amitabha buddha, and the Buddistavas Avalokiteśvara (male form) and Mahāsthāmaprāpta. The Abbot's Hall is a place for lectures and formal meetings.

Outside of the Temple is the Longhua Pagoda. The Longhua Pagoda is the only remaining pre-modern pagoda in Shanghai city. It has an octagonal floor layout. The size of the seven storeys decreases from the bottom to the top. The pagoda consists of a hollow, tube-like brick core surrounded by a wooden staircase. On the outside, it is decorated with balconies, banisters, and upturned eaves. These outer decorations have been reconstructed in keeping with the original style.
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Although previous pagodas existed on the same site, the current brick base and body of the pagoda was built in 977 during the Song Dynasty (960-1279), with continuous renovations of its more fragile wooden components on the exterior. Because of its age, the pagoda is fragile and is not open to the public