Nanhua Zen Temple

Nanhua Zen Temple is located in Caoxi, Qujiang District, Shaoguan City, Guangdong Province. It covers an area of more than a thousand acres and has a wide range. It was built during the Liang Wu Emperor period. At that time, the Indian monk Zhiyao Sanzang found that Caoxi was a good place and suggested that the local officials request the Liang Wu Emperor to build a temple. Thus, the temple was built and named Baolin Temple. Later, some dynasties changed the temple's name. It wasn't until the Sixth Patriarch Huineng came here and taught for 37 years that it was renamed Nanhua Zen Temple, a name that has been used to this day. Nanhua Temple enshrines the mummified bodies of several patriarchs, including the Sixth Patriarch Huineng. It is a key national temple and is known as the ancestral court of Zen Buddhism along with Shaolin Temple in Songshan, one in the south and one in the north. It is also a base for cross-strait exchanges. At the "Baolin of the World" site, there is Zhuoxi Spring. The spring water flows down from the mountain, and many tourists and residents come to fetch the spring water to drink every day. They usually use mineral water bottles to collect the water or wash their hands and drink the spring water on-site. To drink this spring water, people often have to queue, sometimes waiting for half an hour to get a drink. Nanhua Zen Temple is the most important temple in the south, with a thriving incense offering. Many people come to burn incense and worship Buddha every day, especially to pay homage to the mummified bodhisattva of the Sixth Patriarch Huineng. The entrance fee is 20 yuan. There is a special bus line from Shaoguan East Station to Nanhua Temple. You can transfer to bus No. 23 at Maba Middle School bus stop to walk less, or transfer to bus No. 309 at Makan Middle School. It is worth a visit.