Jade Buddha Temple

Lonely Planet review

Built between 1911 and 1918 in Song dynasty style, this active place of worship is one of Shanghai's few Buddhist temples. But the large numbers of tourists it attracts make contemplation difficult. The centrepiece of the temple is its 1.9m-high pale-green jade Buddha

It is said that Hui Gen (Wei Ken, a Pǔtuóshān monk) travelled to Myanmar (Burma) via Tibet, lugged five jade Buddhas back to China and then went off in search of alms to build a temple for them. Two of the Buddhas ended up in Shanghai. The beautiful seated effigy of Sakyamuni, clearly Southeast Asian in style, gazes out from a cabinet. Visitors are not able to approach the statue, but can admire it from a distance. An additional charge of around Y10 is levied to see the statue (photographs aren't allowed).

A similarly elegant jade reclining Buddha can be found downstairs, opposite a much larger copy in stone.

In February, during the Lunar New Year some 20,000 Chinese Buddhists throng to pray for prosperity. The surrounding shops and hawkers can supply everything you need to generate good luck, including bundles of spirit money to burn in incense pots.