Guiyuan Temple

CHINA, Hubei, Wuhan

Guiyuan means Back to the Source. The temple was established in 1658 during the Qing dynasty and was expanded during the rule of Emperor Kangxi (reigned 1661–1722) and Emperor Daoguang (reigned 1821–1850). The temple was destroyed in wartime, so the present structures were rebuilt in 1864, 1895, and 1912. A major reconstruction program was started in 1979. It was listed as a key Buddhist temple in the Han region of China in 1983.
The temple is divided into the central, north, and south sections. The central section contains the Skanda Hall, Great Hero Hall, and the meditation hall. The south section houses the Arhat Hall, while the north section has the sutra repository and the Great Bodhisattva Pavilion. The five-bay wide Skanda Hall has a single-eave hip-and-gable roof. The Free Life Pond is located in front of the hall, with the bell and drum towers on either side. The Great Hero Hall houses a statue of Sakyamuni Buddha. The altar table is made from a single cypress wood and is decorated with reliefs and carvings depicting Master Xuanzang’s Journey to Obtain the Sutras. The Arhat Hall was rebuilt in 1895 during the Qing dynasty and the Arhat statues are arranged in a two-by-two grid formation.
The sutra repository measures 25 m high, 21 m wide, and 17 m deep. The roof has multiple eaves with corners that curve upwards in an exaggerated way. The repository houses valuable versions of the Tripitaka, such as the Qisha Tripitaka produced during the Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279) and the Qing Tripitaka.