Brief information on Yuantong Temple  

Situated in the downtown region of Kunming City, Yuantong Temple is among the oldest and largest temples in Kunming, boasting a history of more than 1200 years. The construction of Yuantong Temple was originally begun in the Tang Dynasty, and it was first named Butuoluo Temple. In the year 1301 during the Yuan Dynasty, the emperor ordered the temple to be destroyed and rebuilt from scratch, and gave it its name, Yuantong Temple. The expansion program didn’t finish until 1319, lasting 18 years in total. There were also several expansion programs in the following Yuan and Qing Dynasties. In recent years, continuous restoration and expansion programs were launched in Yuantong    Temple. Work was especially notable in 1990, when the Bronze Buddha Hall in Xiaocheng Buddha Temple and the Sutra Depository in the east of the temple were built. Thus, the three systems of Chinese Buddhism were brought together in Yunnan Province, and is the only temple of its kind in all of China.

Yuantong Treasure Hall is the central hall of the temple, and has seven separate rooms, all decorated in the style of ancient Chinese architecture, such as the glazed facing tiles and cornice, the splendid arch, and the dazzling color painting. All of the rooms radiate the very magnificence and grandeur of the temple. There are many Buddha statues in various stances, which are aligned according to the primary and secondary order in Daxiongbao Hall. There are two columns with intertwined dragons on each side of the main Buddha statue, which is 10 meters tall. The dragons engraved in the columns are blue-green and yellow respectively, baring their claws and teeth, clearly ready to attack.  The dragon in Yuantong Temple, which is rarely seen in other temples, is the symbol of an emperor in Chinese Feudal Society.

*You can download the bilingual note to show it to a taxi driver or someone else to find your way to Yuantong Temple if you plan to visit Yuantong Temple and have language problems.

   

Hours: 8:00-17:00 (On the first and fifteenth of each lunar month, the opening time is 5:30-17:00)
Address: Yuantong Street, Kunming City
Transportation: Buses: 85, 101