Dinglin Temple

CHINA, Shandong, Rizhao

According to a stele from the Qing dynasty, the temple was founded during the Southern and Northern Dynasties (386–589). The existing buildings were rebuilt after the 1688 earthquake and were repaired in 1874 during the Qing dynasty. It was listed as a Provincial Cultural Heritage Site in 1977.
Facing south, the temple grounds are 95 m long and 52 m wide and occupy 4,940 sq m. The temple consists of three courtyards. The principal buildings include the main temple gate, Great Hero Hall, Sutra Proofreading Building, and the Three Teaching Hall. The three-bay wide main temple gate has a single-eave overhanging gable roof with cylindrical tiles. There is a door in the central bay and square windows on either side. On either side of the door, there is the following couplet, “Fatai came to the East to propagate Chan, while Huidi returned to the North to proofread the Heart Sutra.” In front of the Great Hero Hall there is a thousand year old gingko tree with a circumference measuring 15.7 m. It is said to be the number one gingko tree in the world.