Longhua Temple in Guanglu Ancient Town, Yaoan

Longhua Temple, also known as Living Buddha Temple, was originally named Wofo Temple. It is located at the foot of the west mountain of Guanglu Town, Yao'an County. It was first built during the Tianyou period of the Tang Dynasty (904-907 AD). It is recorded that "because of the appearance of the divine monk, he came from the outside world to seek him, and left at midnight to lead the king away. Because of the spiritual signs, the temple was called Living Buddha." During the Chongzhen period of the Ming Dynasty, the eminent monks Jikong and Zhicong built a temple here, diligently practiced the precepts, opened the mountain and expanded the temple, and renamed it "Longhua Ancient Temple". In 1638, the traveler Xu Xiake visited Longhua Temple and made a brief description of the local geographical environment and landscape. He also wrote what he saw and heard here in the famous "Xu Xiake's Travel Notes". He used his personal travel notes to further describe the solemnity of Longhua Temple. Longhua Temple was built on the mountain, facing west to east. The building is large in scale, exquisite in layout, and well-arranged. There is a clear central axis in the center. It is an ancient palace-style building. The temple building consists of 108 houses, covering an area of ​​4,372 square meters and a construction area of ​​2,797 square meters. The brick carvings, stone carvings and wood carvings in the temple are called "three wonders". The architectural complex of Longhua Temple has accumulated a long history and cultural connotation. It is a fusion of multicultural and multi-ethnic architectural techniques and arts such as Han, Bai, Yi, and Naxi. Therefore, it has also formed a social and cultural phenomenon of tolerance, integration, and harmonious coexistence of multiple beliefs, vividly showing that our long history is written by all ethnic groups, and our splendid culture is created by all ethnic groups. Longhua Temple is the oldest famous temple in Chuxiong Prefecture and the only legal religious activity venue open to the public in Guanglu Town. In September 1981, Longhua Temple was announced as the first batch of state-level cultural relics protection units by the Chuxiong Prefecture People's Government; in November 1993, Longhua Temple was announced as the fourth batch of provincial-level key cultural relics protection units in Yunnan Province; in May 2006, Longhua Temple was announced as the sixth batch of national key cultural relics protection units by the State Council; in July 2008, Longhua Temple was named the third advanced collective for ethnic unity and progress in Yao'an County; in February 2009, Longhua Temple was named one of the twelve "harmonious Buddhist temples" in the prefecture by the Prefecture Buddhist Association; in November 2010, Longhua Temple was named a "harmonious temple" by the Prefecture Religious Affairs Bureau; in April 2020, it was named a state-level demonstration unit for ethnic unity and progress.