Lingyan Temple
灵岩寺
A thousand-year-old temple at the northern foot of Mount Tai in Changqing District. The Song-dynasty painted clay arhats in the Hall of a Thousand Buddhas are praised as “the finest clay sculptures in the land.”
Lingyan Temple lies on the northwest foot of Mount Tai in Changqing District. It was founded around the Eastern Jin dynasty, and in the Tang dynasty it was ranked with Guoqing Temple, Yuquan Temple and Qixia Temple as one of the “Four Great Temples of the Realm.” Inside the Hall of a Thousand Buddhas, 40 painted clay arhats from the Song dynasty each have distinct expressions. Liang Qichao praised them as “the finest clay sculptures in the land.” The Pizhi Pagoda and the Pagoda Forest are also worth seeing.
It is about 50 km from the city center and can be reached by car or on a tourist bus line. Admission is about 60 yuan or less; check the official site for current prices. Plan for about half a day.
Opening hours
08:00–17:30
Nearby sights
- Jiuding Pagoda Ethnic Park
- Wufeng Mountain
- Four Gates Pagoda
- Hongyegu (Red Leaf Valley)
- Longdong Scenic Area
- Yingxiong Mountain & Jinan Campaign Memorial
- Fohui Mountain & Kaiyuan Temple Buddha Head
- Jinan Museum