Southern Shaolin Temple
The ruins of the Southern Shaolin Temple at the eastern foot of Qingyuan Mountain in Quanzhou, rebuilt on the site in 1992
Visitor info
- Opening hours
- 08:00-17:30
- Ticket
- Free (martial arts shows charged separately)
Price is indicative — final quote on inquiry.
The ruins of the Southern Shaolin Temple lie at the eastern foot of Qingyuan Mountain in Quanzhou; it was rebuilt on the site in 1992. In the dispute over the "Northern and Southern Shaolin," Quanzhou's claim rests mainly on Tang-dynasty founding legends, artifacts unearthed from the underground palace, and the lineage records of its warrior monks; the "Southern Shaolin Temple" plaque at the mountain gate, excavated at the original site, provides physical corroboration. The warrior-monk troupe gives martial arts performances daily, and Wuzuquan (Five Ancestors Fist) is a national-level intangible cultural heritage of Quanzhou.
Getting there: Eastern foot of Qingyuan Mountain
Photos
More in Quanzhou
- Kaiyuan Temple
Quanzhou's largest Buddhist temple, first built in the second year of the Tang Chuigong reign (686); legend holds that the temple was founded when its owner gave up his garden after a mulberry tree bloomed with white lotus flowers — hence the "Purple Clouds Covering the Ground" legend
- West Street
Quanzhou's earliest developed district, born with the founding of the city in the Tang Kaiyuan era; for 1,300 years it has remained the lively central axis of the old town
- Qingjing Mosque
One of China's oldest surviving mosques, founded in 1009 (the second year of the Dazhong Xiangfu reign, Northern Song) by Muslim merchant guilds from Arabia; its Arabic name was "Ashab Mosque". The granite-built gateway and the surviving pillars of the Fengtian altar still echo the style of the Great Mosque of Damascus in Syria.
- Tianhou Palace
One of the starting points from which the Mazu faith spread to the world: built in 1196 (the second year of the Qingyuan reign, Southern Song), it is one of the oldest Mazu temples still standing.
- Confucian Temple (Fuwenmiao)
Quanzhou's prefectural Confucian temple, first built in the Tang dynasty and rebuilt in the Southern Song; its Dacheng Hall is one of the largest surviving Confucian temple halls in Jiangnan (south of the Yangtze), with a double-eaved hip roof and Song-style dougong brackets well preserved.
- Tonghuai Guanyue Temple (Temple of Guan Yu and Yue Fei)
The busiest Guandi (Lord Guan) temple in southern Fujian by incense traffic; its Ming-dynasty complex consists of a front hall, the Sanyi Hall and a rear hall, with worshippers pouring in all day.