Chengdu Wenshu Monastery

Located at the Wenshu Yuan Street of Chengdu City , Wenshu Monastery is best-preserved and a famous Buddhism monastery. Formerly named Xinxiang Temple, it was initially built during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 A.D). In 1681, during the reign of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), called Cidu, an accomplished Buddhist monk, came to the monastery. He built an simple hut between two trees and lived an ascetic life for several years there. Legend said when Cidu was being cremated; a statue of Wenshu Bodhisattva appeared in the flames for some time. Then Cidu was regards as the reincarnation of Bodhisattva Wenshu and people called the temple as Wenshu Monastery in replace of Xinxiang Temple.

With an area of 11,600 square meters, Wenshu Monastery has five halls including Tianwang Hall, Sandatu Hall, Daxiongbao Hall, Shuofa (sermon in Chinese) and Cangjing (preserve Buddhist sutra) Pavilion. It has a big copper bell weighing 4,500 kilograms in Bell Tower.

The Cultural relics in the Monastery are the highlights of Wenshu Monastery. There are 300 Buddha statues of various materials including iron, mud, stone, wood, and jade dating from the Liang Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty. Over 500 pieces of painting and calligraphy by celebrities have been stored here since the Tang and Song dynasties. One of the famous is the writing “Kong Lin”, obliged to and written by emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty. Other precious relics, a piece of skull of Xuan Zhang who is a renowned monk of Tang dynasty, a delicate jade Buddha statue brought from Burma to China in 1922 by Xinglin, a hair embroidery Kwan-yin which made by a beautiful lady using her own hair.

Visitors can taste Gaiwan Cha (a unique tea of Sichuan) while watching folk artists playing and singing.

Ticket Fee: 5 yuan per person
Open Time: 8：00－17：00
Bus: No. 16, 55, 64.