Jade Buddha Temple

Jade Buddha Temple which situated in the western part of Shanghai is the most famous Buddhist temple in Shanghai. In 1882, a temple was built to keep two jade Buddha statues which had been brought from Burma by a monk. The temple was destroyed during the revolution. Fortunately the jade Buddha statues were saved and a new temple was built on the present site in 1928.

The jade Buddha statue is 1.9 metres tall. Both of them carved out of a single piece of jade and the color of the statue is lustrously and spotless white. The look of the the figure is dignified with a kind face. Besides, this rare treasure in the world, there is another jade Buddha statue in a reclined position.

Both the Sitting Buddha and the Recumbent Buddha are carved with a whole white jade. The Sitting Buddha is 190 centimeters high and encrusted by the agate and the emerald. The Recumbent Buddha is 96 centimeters long, lying on the right side with the right hand supporting the head and the left hand placing on the left leg, this shape is called the 'lucky repose'. The sedate face shows the peaceful mood of Sakyamuni when he left this world. In the temple there is also another Recumbent Buddha which is four meters long and was brought from Singapore by the tenth abbot of the temple in 1989. Furthermore there are many other ancient paintings and Buddhist scriptures distributed in the different halls of the temple.

Although the history of the Jade Buddha Temple is not very long, the classical architectural style makes the temple unique and inimitable in this modern city.