Nanputuo Temple

Nanputuo Temple (南普陀寺) is a functioning Buddhist monastery at the southern foot of Wulao Mountain, founded in the Tang Dynasty and rebuilt to its current scale in the Qing. The main prayer halls rise in tiers up the hillside, with a sequence of gates, courtyards, pavilions, and a large central hall housing three enormous gilded Buddhas. The monastery is active and the monks visible — it is affiliated with Xiamen University's Buddhist College next door.

Behind the main temple complex, trails lead up Wulao Mountain through subtropical forest to a series of smaller pavilions and viewpoints. The climb takes about 45 minutes to the ridge and the views over Xiamen and the water are good. The temple vegetarian restaurant at the base has a reputation that extends well beyond the monastery: the lunch service attracts both devout visitors and ordinary Xiamen residents, and the creative vegetable dishes are genuinely worth eating.

things to do sight
A story
Nanputuo was the base of operations for the anti-Japanese resistance during the 1930s: the temple's charity organisation, the South Putuo Charitable Society, transformed itself into a field hospital and supply network during the war. A memorial hall in the temple complex commemorates this period, which sits incongruously alongside the Qing Dynasty prayer halls and resident monks going about their daily routines.