Discover China

In 2008 I had the pleasure of visiting the White Horse Temple in Luoyang in central China’s Henan Province (see story and pictures). With over 1900 years of history, White Horse Temple is described as the cradle of Buddhism in China.

Over the next eight years, the temple will be expanded into an 87 hectare cultural park, the largest in China, with an International Temples Zone showcasing 10 exotic shrines from foreign countries. One can already be visited – an Indian shrine opened in May 2010. Two more will open shortly – a Thai shrine built in the 1990s is being expanded and will open in April, and a Myanmar Buddhist garden will be created in April.

Find out more in the China Daily article ‘Cradle of Chinese Buddhism’ embraces world.

Many visitors to Shenzhen are familiar with Hongfa Temple in Fairy Lake Botanical Garden, the largest Buddhist temple in the city. James Baquet introduces some more in these Shenzhen Daily articles:

• Hongyuan Temple, Shiyan
• Longxing Temple, Longgang
• Houwang Temples

You can also see the previous news stories Two Shenzhen temples, Tianhou temples in Shenzhen, Two temples in Xili, Two temples in Dapeng and The difference between temples and halls?

Ancient Buddhist sculptures are scattered throughout Shanxi Province, including in the world-famous Yungang Grottoes and Tianlongshan Grottoes. In the “Solemn Images of Buddhist Sculptures from Shanxi Province” exhibition at the Shenzhen Museum people can find out more about the Shanxi Province’s history and culture. The Shenzhen Daily article A showcase of Buddhist art in Shanxi reports that the exhibition is scheduled to run until 28 August and features 61 sculptures, 23 of which are national first-class cultural relics.

Chinese experts started a restoration project to save a rock carving statue in Southwest China on World Heritage Day, reports CNTV in the news story Restoration of ancient Buddha statue starts. After three years of experiments, a special fibre has been chosen as the perfect element to reconnect the fallen hands of the 1,000 armed Goddess of Mercy Bodhasattva, one of the 4,600 rock carving statues in Dazu county near Chongqing Municipality.

In his Shenzhen Daily article Guanyin Temple, Shajing James Baquet introduces a new Buddhist temple located in Huashan Park in Shajing, Shenzhen.