Guangxiao Temple
光孝寺
One of the oldest Buddhist temples in Lingnan, where the Sixth Patriarch Huineng was ordained. The saying goes, “Before there was Yangcheng, there was Guangxiao.”
Guangxiao Temple was founded on the former residence of the Nanyue king Zhao Jiande, before the Eastern Jin dynasty. It is one of the oldest and largest Buddhist temples in Lingnan. The Tang-dynasty Chan Buddhist Sixth Patriarch Huineng was ordained under the bodhi tree in the temple, and his story of “the wind and the banner” is well known. The Great Hall of the temple is Song in style. Other features include the East and West Iron Pagodas, cast in the Southern Han period and among the oldest iron pagodas surviving in China, the Hair Burial Pagoda and the Sixth Patriarch Hall. Entry costs about 5 yuan. It is a ten-minute walk to the Six Banyan Temple, so you can visit both together. Getting there: Metro Line 1, Ximen Kou station.
Opening hours
06:30–17:00
Nearby sights
- Temple of the Six Banyan Trees
- Huaisheng Mosque (Guangta)
- Liuhua Lake Park
- Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall
- Nanyue King Museum (Mausoleum Site)
- Chen Clan Ancestral Hall
- Dafo Temple (Guangzhou)
- Beijing Road Pedestrian Street