Buddhist Temple sights in Guǎngzhōu
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Guāngxiào Temple
The 'Bright Filial Piety Temple', about 400m west of the Temple of the Six Banyan Trees, is the oldest temple in Guǎngzhōu, dating back to the 4th century. By the Tang dynasty it was well established as a centre of Buddhist learning in southern China. Bodhidarma, the founder of Zen Buddhism, once taught here.
Most of the current buildings date from the 19th century. The most impressive is the main hall, with its double eaves. Inside is a 10m-high statue of the Buddha. At the back of the hall sits an equally impressive statue of Guanyin, Goddess of Mercy. Take metro line 1 to Xīmén Kǒu station.
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Temple of the Six Banyan Trees
This Buddhist temple was built in AD 537 to enshrine Buddhist relics brought over from India. The relics were placed in the octagonal Decorated Pagoda (Huā Tǎ). The temple was given its current name by the exiled poet Su Dongpo in 1099, who commemorated the banyan trees in the courtyard with a poem. The banyan trees are long gone but you can see the characters (liùróng) he wrote hanging above the temple's gateway. To get here, take bus 56.
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