Ashoka Temple
A renowned Chan (Zen) temple famed for enshrining an authentic relic of Sakyamuni Buddha; legend holds that in 282 (the third year of the Taikang reign of the Western Jin) the monk Huida had a relic stupa miraculously emerge from the ground, and the temple takes its name from the 84,000 stupas built by King Ashoka
Visitor info
- Opening hours
- 06:30-16:30
- Ticket
- Free
Price is indicative — final quote on inquiry.
A renowned Chan (Zen) temple famed for enshrining an authentic relic of Sakyamuni Buddha; legend holds that in 282 (the third year of the Taikang reign of the Western Jin) the monk Huida had a relic stupa miraculously emerge from the ground, and the temple takes its name from the 84,000 stupas built by King Ashoka. The relic stupa is enshrined in the Relic Hall, and emperors through the dynasties repeatedly bestowed plaques and gifts; when Jianzhen's fourth voyage east to Japan stalled and he was stranded in Ningbo, he resided at this temple. Built against Maoshan Hill, the complex rises tier by tier through the stupa courtyard, the Hall of Five Hundred Arhats, and the sutra library; its incense has burned for over a thousand years, making it a key node of Buddhist exchange on the Maritime Silk Road.
Getting there: Metro Line 1, Baozhuang Station, then transfer to a bus
Photos
More in Ningbo
- Tianyi Pavilion · Moon Lake Scenic Area
China's oldest extant private library; a national key protected cultural site and a national 5A-level scenic area (the combined Tianyi Pavilion · Moon Lake area)
- Old Bund
A riverside district of modern concession-era character on the Yong River, opened as a treaty port in 1844, about twenty years before Shanghai's Bund; surviving protected buildings include the Gothic Catholic church (built 1872), the former Zhejiang Customs House, and the Jiangbei police station; bars and restaurants coexist with historic buildings, and the night-view photo spot is in front of the Catholic church…
- Gulouyan Historic and Cultural District
Site of the ruins of Ningbo's ancient inner city; Haishu Tower, repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt on the original site of the inner city's south gate from the first year of the Tang Changqing reign (821), combines a Western-style clock tower with a Chinese-style gate platform—an iconic hybrid landmark of Ningbo
- Nantang Old Street
A Jiangnan water-town district along the Nantang River; its one-river-one-street layout recreates the look of old Ningbo's wharf, with Ming- and Qing-style buildings split into north and south streets
- Ningbo Museum
A signature work by architect Wang Shu after winning the Pritzker Prize; its walls are built from hundreds of thousands of bricks and tiles salvaged from the old city, and its form resembles a mountain or a ship—the building itself is an exhibit
- Qing'an Guild Hall (Eastern Zhejiang Maritime Folk Museum)
A Tianhou (Mazu) temple combined with a guild hall, built in 1853 (the third year of the Xianfeng reign) with funds raised by Ningbo's Northern-trade ship merchants; its brick, wood, and stone carvings are famed as the 'three wonders,' and the gilded coiling dragon in the opera-stage caisson is its crowning sight