Linggu Temple

An ancient temple at the southern foot of Purple Mountain, descended from the Liang-dynasty Kaishan Temple; it was relocated and granted the name Linggu Temple in the early Ming, and its old view "Deep Pines of Linggu" ranked among the Forty-Eight Scenes of Jinling. The core building, the Beamless Hall of 1381, is built entirely of brick without a single piece of wood, its vaulted structure making it China's largest surviving beamless hall; in 1931 it was converted into the memorial hall for fallen soldiers of the National Revolutionary Army, with engraved rolls of the fallen set into its walls. Behind it stands Linggu Pagoda, a nine-story memorial pagoda built in 1931 and 60.5 m tall; from the top, the green sea of Purple Mountain spreads out in full. The Xuanzang Skull Relic Memorial Hall enshrines part of the monk Xuanzang's skull relic, with incense offerings continuing unbroken. In late autumn, ancient pines tower along the temple road — the final stop on Purple Mountain's heritage route.

Getting there: Scenic-area shuttle bus