Longhua Temple, Shanghai

Very nice place where a tourist should come and visit. NEVER MISS THIS PLACE ENTRANCE FEE PER PERSON IS 20RMB. But its worth it... Take not to forgot to bring coins and shoot in their like wishing well. But you to shoot it in the hole the high your shoot the higher the chance that wish will come true as what they have said. Their is also a red ribbon you will choose what do you want to achieve.. Either LUCK, WORK, BUSINESS, LOVELIFE, this is 4yuan each. Then you'll tie it in a tree. I suppose to tie a ribbon but all ribbon available are about business... I need work. I don't have business... 😊

Absolutely worth a visit. A set of prayer houses. Praying people, monks and tourists blend together nicely, since it is busy but not crowded.

In a pleasant park in the southwest area of Shanghai, the splendid Longhua Temple remains one of the oldest religious sites in China. Built along with the nearby 40-meter-tall wood and brick pagoda around 242 AD, this important place of worship was destroyed and rebuilt many times through the centuries, with the present structure dating back to the 10th century. The site is still used for regular Buddhist ceremonies and consists of five large halls, including the Maitreya Hall (Mile Dian) with its large Buddha statue, the Heavenly King Hall (Tian Wang Dian) dedicated to the Four Heavenly Kings, and the Grand Hall of the Great Sage (Daxiong Baodian) with its fine statues and a 16th-century bell. Other highlights include the Bell Tower with an even older, two-meter-tall, five-ton bell from 1382 that is still used on special occasions; the Library with its old manuscripts and ceremonial instruments; and the impressive sight of some 500 gold-painted Luohan Buddhas.

I loved this place but was a bit uncomfortable because people were there for spirituality. I was just a tourist. A must see when in Shanghai.

Maitreya Buddha also known as a disciple of Gautama Buddha has a dedicated temple in Shanghai named Longhua Temple. I took the subway line 3 to the Longcao road Subway station and walked around 15 minutes to reach my destination. I could see the Longhua pagoda at a faraway distance, so I was walking towards the right direction. I was relieved to see not much tourist in this location at this time, the tour groups are just arriving the destination. I bought a RMB 10/- ticket to enter. Maitreya hall, Heavenly king hall, Grand hall of the great sage, 3 Sages hall and Abbots hall are the 5 main halls that are arranged along a central north-south pointing axis known as Sangharama Five-Hall Style. The tour groups are pouring in and the crowd was getting bigger and bigger. The groups with old age people were guided by a tour guide carrying a small microphone & a speaker explaining the history of this temple. The announcements passing through the loudspeakers were cutting through the silence of this serene environment. I have a belief that the main beauty of any temple or monastery is the feeling of nature’s silence. Everywhere I look it was the same kind of architecture and design of the buildings; nothing got me excited to make me stay there longer. Searching for something unseen and different I walked towards the nearby Pagoda. It is 40m high and is one of the 16 remaining Pagodas of Shanghai.