Longhua Temple: A Masterpiece of Buddhist Art in Songnen

—A Spiritual Pilgrimage to Asia's Largest Han Buddhist Architectural Complex 【A Sacred Sanctuary】 Located in the heart of the forest park in Ningjiang District, Songyuan City, Longhua Temple covers an area of 450,000 square meters and recreates the Buddhist charm of the prosperous Tang Dynasty with its central axis progressive architectural complex. The main hall, the Mahavira Hall, is 38 meters high and built with a pure wooden mortise and tenon structure. Inside, there is a 21-meter-high statue of the Three Buddhas of Past, Present, and Future, carved from Burmese golden nanmu wood. Amidst the sounds of morning bells and evening drums, 108 white marble Arhat statues are scattered along the mountain path, forming a Zen space of "one flower, one world" with Asia's largest green stone Dharani pillar forest. Every year on the eighth day of the fourth lunar month, during the Bathing Buddha Festival, Buddhists from all directions walk along the 3-kilometer-long Bodhi leaf-patterned floor tiles to worship, and tens of thousands of butter lamps converge into a galaxy on earth. 【A Comprehensive Guide to Zen Practice】 **Ⅰ Path to Enlightenment: Transportation** - Air: Songyuan Airport (25 km) offers a special Buddhist culture bus line (playing the chanting of the Avatamsaka Sutra). - Rail: Take the "Lianhua" sightseeing tram from Songyuan Station (passing by nine pagoda landmarks). - Water: Take a Zen cruise on the Songhua River (from Sanjiangkou Wharf to the temple gate, with chanting and guided tours throughout the journey). **Ⅱ Dharma Realm Tickets** - Basic Ticket: Free admission (donations are welcome). - In-depth Experience: - Morning Bell at Mao Shi (50 yuan/person, participate in the morning chanting with the monks and ring the 5-ton Tang Dynasty style Brahma bell). - Evening Drum Zen Tea (80 yuan/set, including a demonstration of ancient incense rituals + Jiuhua Mountain cloud tea). - Sutra Copying Under the Stars (120 yuan/night, providing gold powder porcelain-green paper to copy the Lotus Sutra). **Ⅲ Seven Levels of Heaven: Tour Route** 1. **Mountain Gate Crossing:** Cross the 66-step "Ladder of Letting Go" and touch the natural Maitreya statue formed by the thousand-year-old locust tree burl. 2. **Heavenly Kings' Inquiry:** Experience AR interaction in the Four Heavenly Kings Hall and witness the manifestation of their Dharma instruments. 3. **Mahavira's Heart Observation:** At noon, sunlight penetrates through 32 hollowed-out scripture windows, projecting the entire Diamond Sutra onto the ground. 4. **Sutra Repository Exploration:** Consult the original Yongle Northern Canon scriptures and experience ancient book restoration techniques. 5. **Arhats' Enlightenment:** Find the Arhat statue corresponding to your birthday and receive a personalized Zen verse. 6. **Pagoda Forest Moon Viewing:** On Mid-Autumn night, hundreds of pagodas and thousands of lamps are reflected in the Liberation Pond, creating a spectacular "Glazed Buddha Land" photo opportunity. 7. **Pine Peak Zen Enlightenment:** Ascend to the top floor of the Medicine Buddha Pagoda and overlook the Tai Chi diagram formed by the confluence of the three rivers. **Ⅳ Immerse Yourself in Buddhist Culture** - Accommodation: - Zhiguan Zen Monastery (monastery-style rooms, providing wake-up service with wooden clappers at Yin Shi). - Lianhua Hermitage (lake-view suites equipped with automatic prayer wheel walls). - Vegetarian Cuisine: - Prajna Feast (108 imperial vegetarian dishes, including "vegetarian roast goose" made from soy protein). - Ambrosia Ice Cream (traditional yogurt with stupa-shaped snow swallow jelly). - Practice Experience: - Participate in the "Zen and Martial Arts" course (Shaolin monks teach Baduanjin + Plum Blossom Stakes). - Learn Buddhist chanting (receive a consecrated tuning fork Dharma instrument). **Ⅴ Buddhist Photography Secrets** - Summer Solstice 06:21: The shadow of the gnomon in the Mahavira Hall points precisely to the palm of Sakyamuni Buddha. - Winter Solstice 16:45: The setting sun penetrates the Thousand Buddha Corridor, creating a spectacular "Light-Cast Arhats" scene. - After the Rain: Rainbow Buddha images appear in the Seven Treasures Pond (requires a polarizing filter). 【Echoes of the Dharma】 **"Three Meetings at Longhua"** Composed by the Central Buddhist Music Troupe, this piece blends the Buddhist chants of Mount Wutai with the sounds of the pine waves of Changbai Mountain. Using the Yushan chanting technique of the Tang Dynasty, at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Buddhist Forum, an AI-generated virtual Xuanzang will perform a cross-time harmony with a real monastic choir. Classic lyrics: "Where cypress leaves fall, true thusness is seen, Pagoda bells awaken writings of past lives, Treading through the snow by the Nine Lotus Terrace, One realizes Mani is but dew." **Pilgrimage Notes** - Electronic ancestral tablets are available for registration during the Ullambana Festival in the seventh lunar month. - When photographing Buddha statues, maintain a distance of 3 meters or more and turn off the flash. - It is recommended to bring a plain-colored shawl to cope with temperature differences in the halls. This Prajna boat, carved from 26,000 cubic meters of white marble, continues to write the Eastern wisdom of "this shore is the other shore" on the Songnen Plain with the hum of prayer wheels, the chime of bronze bells on the eaves, and the rustling sound of morning leaf sweeping.