Nanhua Temple
南华禅寺
The ancestral temple of Chan Buddhism, where Sixth Patriarch Huineng taught for over thirty years. It enshrines the Sixth Patriarch's body and has about 1,500 years of history.
Nanhua Temple lies in Maba Town, Qujiang District, Shaoguan. It was founded during the Liang dynasty (around 504 CE). In the Tang dynasty, the Sixth Patriarch Huineng taught the 'sudden enlightenment' school of Chan here for more than thirty years, which earned the temple the name 'ancestral temple of Chan Buddhism.' Along its central axis are Caoxi Gate, the Fangsheng Pond (Pond for Releasing Living Beings), Baolin Gate, the Heavenly King Hall, the Mahavira Hall, the Sutra Library, the Lingzhao Pagoda and the Sixth Patriarch Hall. The Sixth Patriarch Hall houses body-form statues (roushen xiang) of Huineng and Master Hanshan, rare Chan relics in China. Behind the temple are the Zhuoxi Spring and ancient trees, including a thousand-year-old water pine. Admission is about ¥20 (subject to official announcement). Getting there: a taxi from Shaoguan city center takes about 30 minutes, and buses from Shaoguan station head toward Maba. The nearby Maba Human Site (Lion Rock) can be visited on the same trip. Keep quiet inside the temple, and photography is forbidden in the Sixth Patriarch Hall.
Opening hours
About 08:00–17:30
Nearby sights
- Caoxi Hot Spring
- Maba Man Site
- Fengcai Tower & Dongjie Old Street
- Shaozhou Prefectural Confucian Temple
- Mantang Hakka Enclosure
- Bazhai
- Yunmen Temple
- Xiafu Village & Chahu Peak