Jade Buddha Temple

The Jade Buddha Temple was founded during a troubled era of the late 19th century, taking its name from the original two jade Buddha statues imported from Burma to Shanghai. The Temple we see today was constructed between 1918 and 1928 in the architectural style of the Song dynasty in ancient China. It also houses a third, even larger Buddha from Singapore.

Stepping into the temple, you will, first of all, be impressed by the Chamber of Three Heavenly Kings which presents favorable circumstance. Then the Grand Hall, also called Great Hall, contains many statues: three Golden Buddhas, Gods of the Twenty Heavens, 18 Arhats, Guanyin, Shan Cai and his 53 teachers. All the statues are of special history and stories which are waiting for the visitors to appreciate. The Jade Buddha Chamber is in the northern section of the temple; it contains some additional Buddhist sculptures that are also quite viewable for the tourists.

After sightseeing in the temple, visitors can go to the temple's public restaurant. It has its own street entrance, open daily, serving a variety of noodle dishes at moderate prices. One of the most popular dishes is the "double mushroom noodle" which is quite mouthwatering.

Apart from serving the pious on a daily basis, the Jade Buddha Temple also houses the Shanghai Buddhist Institute that preserves many religious cultural relics like ancient statues, paintings, a complete set of Qing-era Buddhist scriptures and over 7,000 other rare scriptures.