EXTRA: A Walk in Old Guangzhou (Guangdong)

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

Click to see larger map

[Note: As I post this piece in April, 2014, I have heavily revised it to include references to the map and to add links to other articles. I have also slightly changed the route from the original.]

EXTRA: Dafo Temple, Guangzhou, Guangdong

(This article was published in the Shenzhen Daily on January 7, 2013.)

These three Buddhas (佛) at Dafo (Big Buddha) Temple (大佛寺),
Guangzhou, Guangdong (广东,广州市) aren't really so big after all.

March 12, 2011 - Sometimes researching Chinese temples can be a bit confusing. Because I lack Chinese language skills, I always start with English sites, then go to Chinese with the help of a translation program.

So it took me quite a while to solve a mystery: I had seen references to the "Five Great Temples of Guangzhou." Then I found references to only four. And then five again.

EXTRA: Haizhuang Temple, Guangzhou, Guangdong

(This article was published in the Shenzhen Daily on December 31, 2012.)

The Memorial Hall (功德堂) is new, but Haizhuang Temple (海幢寺), Guangzhou,
Guangdong (广东,广州市), is ancient, and has been destroyed and rebuilt many times.

December 21, 2010 - Beautiful Haizhuang Temple is located on the south side of the Pearl River (as it flows east-west across Guangzhou). The park-like setting is no accident. Originally, the area was a private garden. Several hundred years ago it was given over for use as a temple.

EXTRA: Hualin Temple, Guangzhou, Guangdong

(This article was published in the Shenzhen Daily on December 17, 2012.)

The title board says "One Flower, Five Petals" (一花五叶); Bodhidharma (达摩)
is the "One Flower," and the five Chan (禅) patriarchs (祖) who followed
him are the "petals"; at Hualin Temple (华林寺), Guangzhou, Guangdong (广东,
广州市), where Bodhidharma stayed upon his arrival from India (天竺).

December 21, 2010 - As many as 600,000 visitors a day throng Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street, a one-kilometer stretch of shops and restaurants in Guangzhou. But few of them stop to contemplate the small marker on the southern traffic circle on Kangwang South Road, which reads "Xi Lai Gu An" or "Come-from-the-West Ancient Landing Place."

This marks the site at which history says the great Indian monk Bodhidharma stepped off a boat in the Pearl River (now 650 meters south) and touched down on Chinese soil.

Even fewer of these shoppers will know that five minutes north of that site is Hualin Temple, which claims to have been founded in 526 and proudly boasts "Bodhidharma slept here."

EXTRA: Guangxiao Temple, Guangzhou, Guangdong

(This article was published in the Shenzhen Daily on December 24, 2012.)

The Hair Pagoda (瘗发塔) at Guangxiao Temple (光孝寺) in Guangzhou, Guangdong (广东, 广州市), is said to
hold the hair shaved from Huineng (惠能), the Sixth Patriarch (六祖) of Chan (禅), when he became a monk.

November 19, 2010 - From Liurong Temple's gate, turn left, then left again. Not far away, down a leafy pedestrian path, lies Guangxiao Temple. One of the area's most significant temples, it's a mystery to me why it wasn't included on the list of 142 key temples. [There is some possibility that when the list was made in 1983, it wasn't in good enough condition to be included.]

No. 44: Liurong Temple, Guangzhou, Guangdong

(This article was published in the Shenzhen Daily on December 10, 2012.)

Remaining ancient banyan trees (榕) in a side courtyard at Liurong
("Six Banyan Tree") Temple (六榕寺), Guangzhou, Guangdong (广东, 广州市).

November 19, 2010 - The next temple on my itinerary was a little closer to home. In fact, Liurong ("Six Banyan Tree") Temple is the closest of the 142 to my home in Shenzhen. (Hongfa Temple had not been built when the list was made in 1983.)

Trip 7: Guangzhou (November 19 and December 21, 2010; March 12, 2011)

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