Red Snail Temple

The Red Snail Temple is located in Huairou District to the north of Beijing, about 57 kilometers away from the city. It was one of the important temples of the Pure Land Sect of Buddhism in history, and was a place that attracted many monks to come for Buddhist scriptures

The temple was actually called Great Brightness Temple when it was built in 348 A.D. and was renamed Safeguarding the Country and Adding Fortune Temple during the reign of Emeperor Zhengtong of the Ming dynasty(1436-1449).

According to legends, many years ago, two red giant snails were found in a pool on the hill behind the temple and they emitted strange lights at night. They were worshiped by local villagers, and the mountain and the temple were thus renamed the Red Snail Hill and the Red Snail Temple.

Covering an area of 16.6 acres, the Red Snail Temple is the biggest temple in the northern area of Beijing. The temple has five courtyards built to follow the contours of the hillside, with its mail hall, the Mahavira Hall, in the central courtyard and other typical Buddhist temple halls in other courtyards. Its western courtyard is the temple’s Stupa Yard , the burial place of the monks of the temple. Monk Jixing (1741-1810), the 12th Master of the Pure Land Sect, died in the temple at the age of 70 and was buried in the Stupa Yard. More than 100 beads of granulated ashes and his teeth were found in the stupa.

Like those at Tanzhe Temple, the two gingko trees, one male and the other female, in the courtyard in front of the Mahavira Hall are very attractive. They are 30 meters high and over 1,000 years old. The female tree does not bloom but bears fruit in autumn, while the male tree blooms in spring but does not bear fruit. The two trees, the bamboo grove in front of the mountain gate and the pine trees behind the main hall are called “three wonders” of the temple.

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Author: AmoyTrip.com--Red Snail Temple
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