JANVI TOURS

One of the oldest and most famous historic sites in Guangzhou, the Temple of the Six Banyan Trees (Liurong Temple) was originally built in 537 AD to serve as a shrine for Buddhist relics from India. The temple grounds suffered from a series of fires during its first few hundred years, it has been rebuilt several times, but most of the structures standing today date back to the eleventh century, and the name has also been changed several times from Changshou Temple (meaning Longevity Temple) to Jinghui Temple and finally the current name.

It is a name given by the great litterateur Su Dongpo in the Song Dynasty (960 - 1279). It is said that he visited there while returning to the north. During the visit, he found six banyan trees there particularly striking. The vitality of the trees put him in a good mood and cheered him up. When the abbot of the monastery invited him to suggest a name, Su Dongpo wrote down its present name. Finally, its former name (Jinghui Temple) was changed to the present one, Temple of the Six Banyan Trees. A pagoda inside is known variously as Six Banyan Pagoda or Flowery Pagoda.

After entering by the mountain gate, the Tianwang Hall is the first hall you will see. The Laughing Buddha is there with a smile all over his face to welcome visitors. Behind it is the Weituo Hall. According to legend, Weituo was a general who recaptured the Buddhist relics which had been stolen. He keeps a straight face, looking very serious and frightful, in distinct contrast with the Laughing Buddha.

The architecture that catches the visitors' eyes most is the 17-level Six Banyan Pagoda. It is a pagoda where Buddhist relics are placed.  It's one of the city's most prominent and recognizable landmarks. Its roofs curve upwards and look like dark red flower petals. The tip of the pagoda is like stamens, while the whole construction looks like a huge stigma high in the air. Therefore, people like to call it the Flowery Pagoda. The pagoda not only has a nice appearance but also provides visitors a good place to overlook enchanting scenery around.

To the west of the Six Banyan Pagoda is Daxiong Baodian Hall - the main hall of the temple. The three biggest copper Buddhist statues placed there are among the biggest and most ancient Buddhist statues in Guangdong. The middle one is Sakyamuni, to the left, the Amitabha and to the right, the Apothecary Buddha. They stand for the present, past and future.

Burning joss sticks is a big event when visiting there. Thus every year on the Chinese traditional Spring Festival and Lantern Festival, this place becomes a busy area. Numerous people queue to burn the first joss stick in order to be blessed by gods in the coming year. The environment is clean and relaxing and the attending monks were courteous and allowed visitors to photograph the temple at out leisure.

Tourist Information of Guangxiao Temple

⌚ 09:00~17:00;
¥5Yuan;
✉ 87 Liurong Road, Yuexiu District. (广州市越秀区六榕路87号);

How to get there

1. Metro Line 1 & 2 Gongyuanqian station Exit I2;
2. Take the bus No.104 get off at Zhongshan 6th Road;