Tiantong Temple (tiān tóng sì 天童寺) is located at the foot of Taibai Mountain (tài bái shān 太白山), in Ningbo (níng bō 宁波). It is renowned as the "Buddha's Holy Land in Southeast China". The temple was built in 300 A.D., thus it is with a history of more than 1660 years. As a holy place of Buddhism, Tiantong Temple plays an important role in the cultural exchanges between China and Japan and it is well known in the southeast Asian countries.

It is said that during the Yongkang period (yǒng kāng nián jiān 永康年间) of the West Jin Dynasty (xī jìn 西晋，732AD), there was a monk, Yi Xing (yì xīng 义兴) by name. One day when he visited the Yin County (yín xiàn 鄞县), he was fascinated by the beautiful scenery in the East Valley, and decided to build a temple, where he could preach to the people. He was so diligent that even the God of Heaven was moved and sent Venus God to the earth as a bodyguard for Yi Xing. From this legend comes the name of the temple.

There are more than 20 ancient buildings including the Hall of Heavenly King (tiān wáng diàn 天王殿), House of Buddhist Texts (fǎ táng 法堂), Arhat Hall (luó hàn táng 罗汉堂), Hall of Buddhist Abbot (fāng zhàng diàn 方丈殿) and Buddha’s Hall (fó táng 佛堂). The temple originally had 999 rooms, 730 of which are left, now occupying 58,000 square meters. Its grandeur is rare in China. In the temple there are the Imperial Inscriptions and Steles by Emperor Shunzhi (shùn zhì dì 顺治帝), Emperor Kangxi (kāng xī dì 康熙帝) and Emperor Yongzheng (yōng zhèng 雍正) in Qing Dynasty (qīng cháo 清朝). All the halls and houses are constructed as the traditional architectures. And the pillars and beams are beautifully painted. On the east and west side, there are Xixin Hall (xīn xīn diàn 新新殿), Galan Hall (gā lán diàn 伽蓝殿), Yunshui Hall (yún shuǐ táng 云水堂), Jingguan Hall (jìng guān táng 静观堂), which are set off to the main halls. All the halls and houses are connected with a long corridor. When you entering the temple, no matter it is sunny or rainy, people will not worry about the weather, and can reach anywhere of the temple, which represents the unique ingenuity of the constructor.

In the Hall of Heavenly King, there are four statues of great heavenly kings on both side of the hall. These statues are 7.4 meters high, majestic and vivid. The Buddha’s Hall and the Hall of Buddhist Abbot are constructed during Ming Dynasty. House of Buddhist Texts is used for sermon, on the upstairs of which there is a depositary of Buddhist texts (cáng jīng gé 藏经阁). In the Arhat Hall there are 19 rooms, in which there are stone statues of 18 arhats.

Tiantong Temple
Location: Dongxiang Town, Yinzhou District, Ningbo City
Admission fee: RMB 5
Opening hours: 6:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Tel: 0574-88380811
Transportation: you can take bus No. 362, 365 from Ningbo East Bus Station