Wulong Temple (wǔ lóng sì 伍龙寺), also called as Qingjing Temple (qīng jìng chán yuàn 清净禅院), is located at the top of Tiantai Mountain (tiān tái shān 天台山) in Guizhou Province (guì zhōu shěng 贵州省). It was originally built in the Ming Dynasty (míng cháo 明朝), and repaired for many times in the following years. Based on the cliff and stone walls, the Wulong Temple is enormous. It seems that the temple and the stones in the mountain are a great whole. It not only is a Buddhism temple, but also with the function of military defensive function. Wulong Temple is the oldest and best reserved temple in Guizhou.

Climb up the mountain along zigzag stone steps, there are four gates in front of Wulong Temple. The first one was built during the reign of Emperor Qianlong (qián lóng dì 乾隆帝) in the Qing Dynasty (qīng cháo 清朝), and there carved five Chinese characters “黔南第一山"(qián nán dì yī shān), which means that it is the No.1 mountain in Guizhou. The second gate is a stone archway, built during the reign of Emperor Guangxu (guāng xù dì 光绪帝) in the Qing Dynasty. On the second gate, there hanging a stele caved with “天台山"(tiān tái shān). The third on is also a archway, with the relief sculpture of the Eight Immortals (bā xiān 八仙) on the lintel. The fourth gate is the main entrance of Wulong Temple, erected in the ninth year of the Republic of China.

Most of the halls and houses in Wulong Temple are arranged according to the terrain of the mountain. However, the Great Buddha’s Hall and the other three architectures are symmetrical. Great Buddha’s Hall was built in the 44th year of Wanli (wàn lì 万历) in the Ming Dynasty. It is with three houses, which are 10.29 meters long and 8.42 meters wide, with a corridor in front of them. The house in the left is on the cliff, while it is smaller than the right one. On the both side of the beams, there are the relief sculptures of the twenty-four filial exemplars (èr shí sì xiào 二十四孝).

Behind the Great Buddha’s Hall, there is the Yuhuang Pavilion (yù huáng gé 玉皇阁), which was originally a hall with single eave and then rebuilt to a two-storey building with three eaves. In front of the pavilion, there is a Life-Releasing Pond (fàng shēng chí 放生池), which is piled up by flagstone. To the left of the Yuhuang Pavilion, there is the Zushi Hall (zǔ shī diàn 祖师殿) which was also built in the Ming Dynasty, the same period as Yuhuang Pavilion. In front of Zushi Hall, there is a flat, which is the highest in the temple.

Around the Wulong Temple there are high walls which are built with thick flagstone. They are the walls of the yard as well as the walls of the halls and the houses. Looking from the outside, the temple is like a fortress, which is a unique characteristic.

Wulong Temple
Location: Tianlong Town (tiān lóng zhèn 天龙镇), Pingba County (píng bà xiàn 平坝县), Anshun City (ān shùn shì 安顺市)
Admission fee: RMB 10
Opening hours: 8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Transportation: you can take a bus at Guiyang Bus Station to Anshun, and then take a minibus to Pingba.