The Chancellor's Temple at Kaifeng(Chinese:相国寺;pinyin:xiàngguósì)is a famous temple and has a history of 2000 years. It was build in the early South and North Dynasty (420-581A.D.). It was reconstructed and enlarged during the Tand and Song dynasties; destroyed by a Yellow River flood at the end of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), it was reconstructed again at the beginning of the Qing Dynasty.
The Chancellor's Temple owns the main building such as the Hall of Mahavira (great hero), Hall of Heaven, Hall of Collecting Buddhist Volumes, Glazed Hall of 8 Eaves, Hall of Clock, East and West Pavilions. The Hall of Mahavira is the most important structure, decorated with dragons, covered with yellow and green glazed titles.
The statue of Sakyamuni (563BC-483BC) in the hall and groups of pagodas are quite splendid and magnificent. The inner pavilion of the Glazed Hall is 16.9 meters high, displayed a 7-meter high Lady Buddha ("Avalokitsvara") made of the main branch of gingko of 1,000 years old.
There are bronze statues of 500 arhats in the Hall of Buddhist. The huge clock in the Hall of Clock weighs over 10,000jin (11,000lbs), set up in Emperor Qianlong (1736-1796A.D.),Qing Dynasty, and now is one of the 8 famous scenic spots in Kaifeng. |