Emeishan Wannian Temple

CHINA, Sichuan, Leshan

The temple is situated at the foot of Guanxin Peak at Emeishan (Delicate Eyebrow Mountain). It is one of the Six Major Temples on Emeishan and was built during the Eastern Jin dynasty (317–420). A bronze statue of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva dated 980 during the Northern Song dynasty is enshrined in the temple, and it was the only statue to escape the fire of 1599 from the Ming dynasty. In 1600 the imperial court granted funds to construct a Brick Hall for the Samantabhadra statue. The temple had seven courtyards and is considered rather large; however, in 1946 it was ravaged by fire again with only the Brick Hall remaining. In the years following 1950 the temple was expanded and reconstructed. It was listed as a key Buddhist temple in the Han region of China in 1983, and as part of Emeishan, it was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996.
The surviving buildings include the main temple gate, bell and drum towers, Maitreya Hall, Great Hero Hall, Brick Hall, Majestic Hall, Vairocana Hall, and Practice and Vow Building. The Brick Hall is a beamless structure with a vaulted ceiling. It is 15.6 m wide and 16 m high and is the most distinctive building in the temple. On the roof of the building there are five Tibetan-style stupas. There is an arched doorway on the north and south sides of the hall. The outer wall is made of brick in imitation of wood. Its architectural features include bracket sets, pendills, architraves, and decorative windows. The gilt copper alloy statue of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva is the most distinctive sculpture in the temple. It is surrounded by Buddha niches which are separated into two layers: the bottom layer contains 24 niches, while the upper layer consists of 307 niches.
The Majestic Hall is the largest building of the temple and is situated behind the Brick Hall. It is surrounded by a veranda. It has a single-eave hip-and-gable roof with additional eaves at the front. The hall is five bays wide though the bays are exceptionally wide, and two extra columns were added to the central bay. Inside, the hall is undecorated and the colors are muted. A standing Amitabha Buddha statue is enshrined at the center, with a statue of Skanda Bodhisattva at the rear. The temple houses valuable religious artifacts such as a Buddha’s Tooth Relic, palm leaf manuscripts, and other relics.