Jade Buddha Monastery

The Jade Buddha Monastery is located in Anyuanlu street in western Shanghai. It dates from 1918 and is well worth a visit, not only for its two wellknown, valuable jade buddha statues. The monastery is still inhabited by monks. The temple consists of three main halls and two courtyards. there are statues of the four celestial kings in Tianwang Dian Hall. Gilded statues of Maitreya buddha and Weituo are also located there. Daxiong Baodian, the Treasure Hall of the Great Hero, contains three large, gilded Buddha statues:the buddhas of the past, present and future. There are 18 gilded Luohan statues to their left and right. One of the two jade Buddhas, a 1.9-m-tall portrayal of the real Buddha sitting at the moment of his enlightenment, stands on the second floor of Wentang Hall together with a collection of valuable Buddhist writings. The second Buddha statue, located in a hall on the western part of the temple grounds, portrays the reposing Sakyamuni during his passage into nirvana, 96 cm long.Each of these Buddha statues is carved out of a single piece of white jade. In addition to these two main attractions, the Jade Buddha Temple also has a collection of interesting sculptures, the oldest of which date from the 5th century, as well as a collection of 7,000 Buddhist classics. Some of them date as far back as the Tang era(618-907).

City God Temple

The City God Temple is located south of Yuyuan Garden. There used to be a temple to the local deity, which the inhabitants believed would protect them, in every city. The city deities were frequently real persons to whom the town owed something. Today, an arts and crafts store is in the temple.

Yuyuan Garden

Yuyuan garden is northeast of the Old Town. A high official had it designed in the Suzhou style as a private garden and built from 1559-1577. Later, it was restored several times. In spite of its relatively small area of two hectares, it seems considerably larger due to the skillful arrangement of 30 different landscape scenes. The garden consists of an inner garden which is in the southern part and substantially smaller than the outer one, but then, it is more impressive and romantic, if it is possible to visit it in the early morning hours in order to enjoy it alone. The outer part is in the north and contains numerous halls, pavilion and lakes. In 1853, the Pavilion of Spring in the northeast was the seat of the Xiaodao Hui, the Society of Little Swords, who led an uprising against Qing rule and occupied Shanghai for 17 months. Today, weapons and coins made by the Xiaodao Hui society, among other objects, are exhibited in this hall.

Longhua Pagoda and Longhua Temple

Longhua Temple is on the west bank of the Huangpu Jiang river inLonghua district in southern Shanghai. Its 40-m-high pagoda makes it an important sight.

Historic documents indicate that a pagoda was built here as early as the 3rd century. The present pagoda dates from 977. It was restored several times in later centuries and is built of wood and bricks.

Longhua Temple dates from the same period.

A bronze bell from 1382 said to weigh 1, 500kg is a feature of interest. In 1954, the entire complex was restored and a park added. It is especially pretty here in the springtime when the peach trees are in bloom.

Songjiang

Songjiang Pagoda

Songjiang and Huzhu Pagoda Songjiang, also known as Huating, is an ancient town 40 kilometres to the west of Shanghai with a history of over 2000 years. There stand five ancient pagodas: Square Pagoda, Xilin Pagoda, Huzhu Pagoda, Li Pagoda and Xiudaozhe Pagoda. Huzhu Pagoda, which tilts to the west, is on Tianma Shan mountain in Songjiang district and was built in 1079. In 1788, important wooden parts were destroyed by fire, upon which old money was discovered between the bricks. In the hope of finding even greater treasures, the people tore more bricks out of the western side. Owing to this, the pagode tilted several degrees and has threatened to collapse for the last 200 years. It has become famous because it still stands in spite of all fears. The Sheshan Catholic Church, Ancient Screen Wall and Zuibai Pond are also the famous scenic spots in the area.

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