Wenshu Temple

Located in the northern reaches of Chengdu, Wenshu Temple is often regarded as the best preserved Buddhist temple in the entire city. Originally known as Xinxiang Temple, the Buddhist center was later renamed Wenshu after a 17th century monk who famously inhabited the monastery grounds. The temple features a newly built 11-story iron pagoda which, at 72 feet (22 meters) in height, is the largest of its kind in all of China. This “Peace Pagoda of a Thousand Buddhas” is rung with yellow bells which melodically chime in the daytime breeze.

Though nestled among a fast-paced street scene, the grounds of the Wenshu Temple offer visitors well-manicured gardens and intricate statues and carvings which spring from every corner. If all of your wanderings render you thirsty, you can relax in a bamboo chair and enjoy a cup of tea from the sprawling temple teahouse which is accompanied by a vegetarian restaurant. Together, these areas are regarded as visitor favorites and reasons in themselves to pay a visit.

The Wenshu Temple is also known for the hundreds of cultural relics which are permanently housed on the monastery grounds. Artifacts include the partially broken skull of Xuan Zhang, a renowned monk who lived during the Tang Dynsaty, as well as a jade Buddha which in 1922 was hand carried by a monk who walked all the way from Myanmar to the modern day city of Chengdu.