James Baquet

    FROM the tiny jewel of Chenxiang Pavilion, I took a single bus south to the largest ancient Buddhist temple in Shanghai.

    According to legend, Longhua Temple dates to the Three Kingdoms Period (220-280), but the Song Dynasty (960-1279) is more likely to be the historical founding of the site. While the compound is large, it used to be larger still: Much of its former area is now occupied by the Longhua Martyrs’ Cemetery.

    I encountered one of the highlights before I even entered the gates. The Longhua Pagoda is the only ancient pagoda remaining in the city; while the foundations may be older, and there have been extensive repairs, the core of the current structure dates to 977.

    Inside the temple, I was delighted to discover that there were no restrictions on photography of the statues — and what statues they are!

    Three collections particularly caught my eye.

    The first was in the 500 Arhats Hall, where foot-high figures of (you guessed it!) 500 disciples are seated around a central figure of the historic Buddha under a tree.

    The second was the Thousand-armed Guanyin, the Bodhisattva of Compassion shown ready to save in a thousand ways, with his/her numerous incarnations gathered around. And finally, many lifelike figures of deva/gods and patriarchs surrounded the Vairocana Buddha in the Main Hall.

    Any one of these would be worth the trip out to the Longhua area; combined, and with the pagoda and some good vegetarian dining thrown in, I’d say this is undoubtedly the best of the Shanghai temples I’ve seen.