Jinge Temple

The "Golden Pavilion" with a 17-metre statue of Avalokiteshvara

Jinge — "Golden Pavilion" — sits in a wooded side valley several kilometres south of the central Taihuai cluster, on the lower slopes of the southern terrace. It was founded in the eighth century by the imperial monk Amoghavajra, the third Tantric patriarch in China, and was once one of the most important Buddhist sites in the country. The present buildings are Ming and Qing rather than Tang, but the temple still has the dignity of an old, somewhat secluded house of practice.

The main hall is the draw: a triple-storey pavilion containing a 17-metre statue of the thousand-armed Avalokiteshvara, one of the largest bronze-and-clay sculptures of the bodhisattva in northern China. Reach Jinge by taxi, bus, or a long walk through the forest; it is far enough from the centre to be quiet on most days, even when Taihuai is busy with pilgrims and tourists.

things to do sight
A story
The current 17-metre bronze and clay statue of the thousand-armed Avalokiteshvara was installed in the Qing dynasty. The temple's original eighth-century pavilion was famously sheathed in actual gold leaf, donated by the Tang court — but the gold was stripped during the Huichang persecution of 845 and the original structure did not survive. The name stuck.

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