Tianning Temple

CHINA, Jiangsu, Yangzhou

Tianning means Heavenly Peace. The temple was founded during the Eastern Jin dynasty (317–420). The temple was reconstructed during the rule of Emperor Taizu (reigned 1368–1398) of the Ming dynasty and became popular during the Qing dynasty (1644–1911), when it was listed as one of the Eight Major Temples in Yangzhou. It was destroyed and reconstructed a number of times. The temple was listed as a Provincial Cultural Heritage Site in 1982.
The temple occupies an area of 1.16 ha, while its buildings take up 5,000 sq m. Along the central axis there are the main temple gate, Heavenly King Hall, Great Hero Hall, and Avatamsaka Pavilion, with side halls to the east and west. The three-bay wide main temple gate has a single-eave hip-and-gable roof. There is a guardian lion on each side of the central bay. The temple underwent large scale renovation between 1982 and 1987 and was reopened as the new Yangzhou Buddhist Cultural Museum in 1988.