Brief information on Dule Temple  

First built in the Tang Dynasty,  Dule Temple is located on  West Street in Ji County, about 113km (70 miles) from Tianjin City. With a history of over 1,000 years, it is one of the oldest still-standing timber constructions in China. It was said that An Lushan, a Tang Dynasty Prefecture military governor, once vowed to his troops, in front of the temple, that he would rebel against the Tang Kingdom. The temple’s name comes from the fact that An Lushan liked and empathised with the two characters, “du le”, which means “solitary joy”.

Dule Temple is one of the top ten attractions in Tianjin, and is known as “morning light of Dule Temple”. The entire complex consists of Entrance Gate, Kwan-yin Pavilion, as well as the east and west halls. The Entrance Gate has a single-eaved palace roof, making it the earliest example of its kind among China’s historic buildings.  A horizontal board inscribed with the name of the temple hangs under the eastern roof, and the inscription is said to have been written by Yan Song, a premier of the Ming Dynasty. On both sides of the gate, there are two grand statues, commonly referred to as the “heng” and “ha” guards.

Standing at a height of 23 meters, the Kwan-yin Pavilion is the tallest and oldest example of a two-storey pavilion still standing in China. Inside the attic, there is a 16 meters- high clay statue of Kwan-yin and a ten-sided Buddha on the top. Thus, the Kwan-yin statue is also called “The11-sided Bodhisattva.” On the surrounding walls are 16 Arhat paintings and pictures of a Three-headed, Six-armed Ming king, painted by artists from the Ming Dynasty.

The Dule Temple is a representative work of ancient Chinese wooden architecture, and was recently added to the UNSCO World Heritage Tentative List.

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

   

Hours: 07:00-18:00
Location: Ji County
Phone: 022-29142904; 022-29142907
Admission: Adults CNY30; Students CNY20