Chengde Trip, My Trip to Chengde (First Day)
( Visit Puning Temple, Xu Mi Fu Shou Temple, Little Potala Palace)After simple washing, I start my Chengde tour. I choose Puning Temple next door as my firt spot. The name of Puning Temple literally means"Temple of Universal Peace". This temple was built in 1755 AD ( the 20th year of Emperor Qianlong' reign ). Emperor Qianlong ordered the lamasary to be built outside the Mountain Resort named"Temple of Universal Peace" which suggested that the people in the northeast China would live a peaceful life for ever. Most of the people in the northeast China, and all Mongolians were the followers of Yellow Sect Lamaism. This temple was built after the Samage Monastery - the sacred place of lamaism in Tibet. This temple boasts of the largest wooden image of Buddha ( about 24 meters high ) in the main building of the temple, hence the nickname"Big Buddha Temple".
The main entrance to Puning Temple
This is the main hall in Puning Temple. People are not allowed to take the picture of the big buddha
The subsidiary buildings in the temple
The Tibetan style building
Prayer wheel
Lamas in their leisure time
Puning Temple is a big feast and eye-opener for every visitor. Saying bye-bye to the amazing temple, I feel a little hungery and randomly choose a local small restaurant offeing Jiaozi on the way to my next spot - Xu Mi Fu Shou Temple. The boss is a kind man and complains a bit about the sluggish business. This year, bad luck always follows China, big snow, huge earth equake, heavy downfalls and man-made Lhasa riot. Also the upcoming 2008 Olympic Games slows down the tourism business in China. He says the business is much worse than that of the same period last year. After the simple lunch, I decide to walk to Xi Mi Fu Shou Temple, a temple built by Qianlong for the 6th Panchen Lama in 1780. Puning Temple Hotel is only a 20-minuite walk from Xi Mi Fu Shou Temple. It only takes 10-minute walk from the restaurant to my next temple. Xi Mi Fu Shou Temple means literally"Temple of Sumeru Happiness and Longevity". In the 45th year of Emperor Qianlong'reign, the 6th Panchen Lama came to Chendge to congradulate Emperor Qianlong on his 70th birthday. Emperor Qianlong paid great attention to Panchen's visit and had this temple built for him as his residence in Chengde after Panchen' residence in Tibet the Tashilunbu. So Xumi Fushou Temple is a smaller Tashilunbu in Chengde. The building of of the temple was a sign of the good relatioship between Qing government and Tibet.
The five arches stone bridge built in 1780 in front of the Temple
The main entrance to the Ximu Fushou Temple
The three arches Carved Archway
The main building in the temple (massive Great Red Terrace)
The main interior building
The roof of the big temple hall
I've been to Chengde for many times, but it is first time for me to visit Xumi Fushou Temple. It has much more historical value than its real architecture. The walk from Xumi Fushou Temple to Putuo Zongchen Temeple ( Little Potala Palace ) only takes me about 15 minutes. While walking on the way to Little Potala Palace, I can still have a distant overall view of the temple. It is located directly north of the Mountain Resort, the largest temple among the eight outer temples. It was built in 1767 after the model of the Poala Palace in Lhasa. The buildings are a synthesis of Han and Tibetan styles. Putuo Zongchen means"the ritul ground for Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara" translated from Potala Palace. It was built from 1767 to 1771, covering an area of 220000 square meters. In 1771, the heads and officials of Tibet and Mongolia gathered in the Mountain Resort to celeberate 60th birthday of Emperor Qianlong and 80t birthday of Emperoress Dowager ( Emperor Qianlong's mother ). In honor of the celeberation, Emperor Qianlong had the temple constructed.
The distant overall view of Little Potala Palace
The Han-Tibetan Style main entrance to Putuo Zongchen Temple ( Little Potala Palace )
The five pagodas archway
The main building ( white terraces and the awe-inspiring Great Red Terrace )
The golden roof of the temple atop the red terrace
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