Xiangguo Temple

CHINA, Henan, Kaifeng

Xiangguo means Chancellor. It is also known as Daxiangguo (Great Chancellor) Temple and was one of the most famous temples in ancient China. It was built in 555 during the Northern Qi dynasty but was later destroyed in wartime. In 712 during the Tang dynasty, the monk Huiyun built another temple on top of the ruins. In 996, Emperor Taizong (reigned 976–997) of the Northern Song dynasty designated it as an imperial temple and expansion was carried out. After the demise of the Northern Song dynasty, the temple suffered severe damage but was repeatedly repaired during later dynasties. The existing buildings were mainly reconstructed in 1766 during the Qing dynasty and they were fully restored after 1949. It was listed as a Provincial Cultural Heritage Site in 1963.
Along the south to north axis are the main temple gate, Heavenly King Hall, Great Hero Hall, Arhat Hall and the sutra repository. On either side there are the bell and drum towers, as well as walkways and hallways. The Great Hero Hall has a double-eave hip-and-gable roof covered in yellow-green glazed tiles. White marble balustrades surround the exterior of the hall. The hall enshrines the Three Buddhas.
The Arhat Hall’s octagonal pyramidal roof is covered in green glazed tiles and has a small Tibetan stupa at the apex. The eaves turn up dramatically at the corners. Inside the hall there is a 7 m high statue of the Thousand-Armed, Thousand-Eyed Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva. The entire statue was carved from a single ginkgo tree in 1766 during the Qing dynasty. The bell tower houses a 2.2 m bronze bell cast in 1768 weighing 5 t.