No. 75: Yongquan Temple, Fuzhou, Fujian

(This article was published in the Shenzhen Daily on October 14, 2013.)

This Guanyin (观音) stands behind the Abbot's (方丈) Reception
Room at Yongquan Temple (涌泉寺), Fuzhou, Fujian (福建, 福州市).

October 26, 2011 - My friend the monk, Venerable Deru, came from a family that had made its living picking tea. His brother was still in the tea business in Fuzhou. So the day after our tour of Fu'an, I met Deru's brother Chen Hui at "Haixi Tea City," a tea sales area in Fuzhou, and we took a bus to Gushan ("Drum Mountain"), site of Yongquan ("Gushing Spring") Temple.

No. 73: Xichan Temple, Fuzhou, Fujian

(This article was published in the Shenzhen Daily on September 16, 2013.)

A statue of Vairocana Buddha (毗卢遮那佛) at Xichan Temple (西禅寺), Fuzhou, Fujian (福建, 福州市).

October 24, 2011 - It was nearly 4 p.m. when I reached Xichan ("Western Zen") Temple, but although the halls would close around 6, the grounds would stay open until 7:30!

No. 72: Linyang Temple, Fuzhou, Fujian

(This article was published in the Shenzhen Daily on September 9, 2013.)

One of many statues showing the forms of Guanyin (观音) in a rear
hall at Linyang Temple (林阳寺), Fuzhou, Fujian (福建, 福州市).

October 24, 2011 - Once again, reaching a mountain temple--this one named Linyang Temple--was a challenge, perhaps the greatest I had faced on my pilgrimage so far. My friend at the front desk of my hotel saved the day again!

No. 71: Xuefeng Chongsheng Temple, Fuzhou, Fujian

(This article was published in the Shenzhen Daily on September 2, 2013.)

Gate to a small compound outside of Xuefeng Chongsheng Temple
(雪峰崇圣寺), in the mountains above Fuzhou, Fujian (福建, 福州市).

October 23, 2011 - Reaching Xuefeng Chongsheng Temple involved a local bus to a long-distance bus station, then a two-hour mini-bus ride, over half of it on a twisty mountain road. (Thank goodness for the girl at the front desk of my hotel, who helped me figure it all out.)

No. 70: Dizang Temple, Fuzhou, Fujian

(This article was published in the Shenzhen Daily on August 26, 2013.)

This was the first of several odd, barrel-shaped stupas (塔) I saw near Fuzhou, Fujian
(福建, 福州市). This one is at Dizang Temple (地藏寺), one of the oldest in Fujian.

October 22, 2011 - My next trip took me to the area of Fuzhou in northern Fujian Province. From the airport, I took a bus into town and a taxi straight to my first temple--even before checking in at the hotel!

Dizang Temple was named for Kshitigarbha Bodhisattva, who promised to save all six kinds of beings from their respective levels of hell. Typically for a temple dedicated to this "savior of the dead," many of the halls in this small temple functioned as a mausoleum.

Trip 12: Fujian North(Fuzhou, Ningde, Fuqing, Putian)(October 22-29, 2011)

This is a record of my twelfth trip to visit the 142 Key Temples of China. Links lead to articles on the temple (or other site) named.