Yuantong Temple

Yuantong Temple is at the foot of the Luofeng Hill in the northern part of the city. It is the largest Buddhism temple in Kunming, where the Yunnan Provincial and the city's Buddhism Commission are based.

The temple was built in the Tang Dynasty, with a history of over 1,200 years. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the temple was reconstructed and repaired for several times to the present size. The temple is now of the most important Buddhist temples under the state's special protection.

Contrary to others temples, which were built on an ascendant, the temple's great hall was at the lowest point of the temple. The temple's layout itself and Buddhist Scriptures in it follow the Yuan and Ming styles.

Yuantong Temple is grandeur, unique. Its brilliant appearance, grand building complex and tranquil surroundings have intoxicated generations of poets and painters. There are many poets and paintings that left up to the present related with the Yuantong Temple.

The only Buddhist temple within the city, Yuantong temple is very popular among tourists and pilgrimages alike. Throngs swarm to the temple all year round. The temple is particularly crowded during the Qingming Festival(5th May), the first day and fifth day of each lunar month.