Daming Temple (dà míng sì 大明寺), located on a hill slope in the northwestern suburb of Yangzhou City (yáng zhōu shì 扬州市), is one of the oldest temples in the city. It was initially erected during the Daming era in 57 to 464 AD of the Southern Dynasty (nán cháo 南朝), thus got the name of Daming Temple. It is with a long history of more than 1500 years. Daming Temple is famous for its perfect integration of the classic garden, cultural and historic relics and Buddhism architectures. It is one of the greatest places in Yangzhou to visit and has been listed with the highest national 4A tourist ranking.

There are many famous Buddhists from the Daming Temple, among which the most respected one is Jian Zhen (jiàn zhēn 鉴真). During 742 – 748 A.D., after numerous failing attempts to navigate across the East China Sea (dōng hǎi 东海) to Japan to disseminate Buddhism, the monk was blinded by an infection. In 753 A.D., the blind Jian Zhen finally landed at Kagoshima, a city of Japan. In the subsequent 15 years, the monk traveled in many cities of Japan, introduced Chinese religious sculpture and founded a school and a private temple until his death in 763 A.D. The temple conserved many Buddhism sculptures and relics left by Jian Zhen. People constructed Memorial Hall of Mork Jian Zhen (jiàn zhēn jì niàn táng 鉴真纪念堂) so as to commemorate him.

In the square in front of the temple there is a majestic and grace archway, which is constructed to commemorate the Qiling Tower (qī ling tǎ 栖灵塔) and Qiling Temple (qī ling sì 栖灵寺). In history, Qiling Tower, with nine storeys, was standing on the key point of Yangzhou. It was originally constructed in the year 601 during Sui Dynasty. Many famous poets of the Tang dynasty visited and mounted the tower and wrote moving poems. In 843, the tower was ruined by fire. In 1993, Qiling Tower was rebuilt and first opened to people in 1996.

In the main hall, Mahavira Hall (dà xióng bǎo diàn 大雄宝殿), there sit three Buddhist images. In the centre there is Sakyamuni (shì jiā móu ní 释迦牟尼), to his east Master of the Medicine (yào wáng shī 药王师), to his west is Amitabha (ē mí tuó fó 阿弥陀佛). On each side Of Sakyamuni stands one of his ten disciples．The older one on his 1eft represents experience and prestige, while the younger one on his right represents wisdom and knowledge. On the eastern and western sides are 18 Arhats (luó hàn 罗汉)．On the northern side there are six Buddhist images represent six founders of the Chan Sect Of Buddhism., At the back is an island on sea with Guanyin (guān yīn 观音, God or Goddess of Mercy) standing on the head of a huge turtle．According to Buddhist Sutra, he can deliver all living creatures from any suffering. Those in misery need only call him and he will come to their rescue．

To the west of the main hall, there is the Pingshan Hall (píng shān táng 平山堂), which was constructed by Ouyang Xiu (ōu yáng xiū 欧阳修) when he was in charge of Yangzhou during Northern Song Dynasty (běi sòng 北宋). There are glorious trees and flowers in front of the hall, and the mountains in the south are seemed that they are on the same level with the hall, thus got the name of “Pingshan Hall”.

To the east of Pingshan Hall, there is the No. 5 Spring Under Heaven (tiān xià dì wǔ quán 天下第五泉). It is an ancient spring well. The water is rich in mineral content．If you continue to pour Water into a glass already full to the brim, the water forms a dome and stays over the brim．If you put a coin gently on the water, it will not go down. The green tea from the PingShan Hall brewed in this water has a special flavor. You will never miss it.

Daming Temple
Location: No.1, Pingshantang Road (píng shān táng lù 平山堂路), northwest of Yangzhou City, it is just across the road from the Slender West Lake’s north entrance.
Admission fee:
RMB 30 (during December to February, July and August)
RMB 45 (during March to June, September to November)
RMB 5 if you want to visit Qiling Tower and Bell Drum Towers (zhōng gǔ lóu 钟鼓楼)
Opening hours: 7:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Transportation: you can take bus No. 5, 21, 22 Tourist Bus No.1 and 2 to get there.