Southern Putuo Temple, one of the famous old temples of Fujian ,was built in Tang Dynasty more than one thousand years ago. Situated at the foot of Wulaofeng (Mountain of Five Old Men) in the urban district of Xiamen. It was ruined in a battle during Ming Dynasty, and was rebuilt during Qing Dynasty. Because it is situated to the south of Putuo Mountain in Zhejiang Province, where there is a similar temple, and because both temples are all devoted to Guanyin(a Bodnisativa),this temple is named South Putuo Temple.
The temple covers 30,000 square meters with four main buildings,which include Devajara Hall (the Hall of Heavenly Kings), Mahavira Hall (Daxiongbaodian), Dabei Hall (the Hall of Great Compassion) and a Pavilion built in 1936 in which Buddhist scriptures, Buddha images from Burma, ivory sculptures and other works of art are stored. During the reign of Qing Emperor Kangxi (1662-1722), a naval general ordered it to be rebuilt into a Buddhist Temple and named it Nanputuo Temple.