[2024 Ulanhot Attraction] Travel Guide for Gegen Temple (Updated Nov)
Temples
Address:
Horqin Youyi Qianqi, Hinggan, China
Opening times:
Open year round, 24/7Open
Recommended sightseeing time:
2-3 hours
Ulanhot Gegentemple｜Complete Guide
🚌How to get there:
Gegentemple is located more than 30 kilometers from Ulanhot city center, and there are four ways to get there:
1⃣️Public Transportation:
There is a bus line between Ulanhot Station and Gegentemple, with the following departure times:
Ulanhot Station:
Weekdays (7:30, 15:30); Weekends (8:00, 10:00, 14:00, 16:00).
Gegentemple:
Weekdays (10:00, 17:00); Weekends (9:00, 11:00, 15:00, 17:00).
⚠️Note: The tour time at Gegentemple is 1.5-2 hours, so plan your travel time accordingly.
2⃣️High-speed Rail (Not Recommended):
The train departs from Ulanhot Station at 13:01, C508, with a travel time of 20 minutes.
⚠️Note: There is no public transportation from Gegentemple Station to Gegentemple, and taxis are not convenient. Sometimes there are private cars at the exit, costing 20 yuan per car, but there is no return train.
3⃣️Chartered Car:
Round-trip cost from Ulanhot city center is 120-150 yuan.
4⃣️Self-driving:
Navigate to "Gegentemple South Gate", the drive takes about 40 minutes.
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🎫Tickets:
Free, no reservation required.
🕙Opening Hours:
All day.
⏰Recommended Tour Time: 1.5-2 hours.
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🌈Tour Route:
Mountain Gate➡️Four Heavenly Kings Hall➡️Fantong Temple➡️Mahavira Hall (Auspicious Mahayana Temple)➡️Alatan Bridge➡️Thousand Hands and Eyes Guanyin Hall➡️Longevity Buddha Hall➡️Shakyamuni Buddha Hall➡️Aobao.
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📷Main Highlights:
🌟Participate in the Sutra Lecture Ceremony:
At 3 PM in the Auspicious Mahayana Hall, there is a sutra lecture ceremony that visitors can participate in. First, sit on the mats on the side to listen to the sutra, then go outside the hall to wash hands and face with holy water, and then return to the hall to receive incense and anointment. It is a very wonderful experience.
🌟Panoramic View from the Mountain Top:
After passing the Auspicious Mahayana Temple, start climbing the mountain. The Thousand Hands and Eyes Guanyin Hall, Longevity Buddha Hall, and Shakyamuni Buddha Hall are built along the mountain slope. The Aobao is located at the highest point, offering a breathtaking panoramic view of Gegentemple.
NavratriNectar111
There is a Gegentemple in Ulan Hot, which is the largest Lama temple in the Northeast, with distinctive architecture
About 30 kilometers southeast of Ulan Hot City, Xing'an League, Inner Mongolia, at the foot of Taolaitu Mountain on the east bank of Taoer River, there is a group of fairly large temples, named Gegentemple. From a high altitude, the palace-style buildings are divided into several entrances and exits along the mountain, neat and spectacular, as if it is the only human remains in the vast mountain wilderness.
This autumn, if your self-driving destination is Ulan Hot, Xing'an League, Inner Mongolia, after seeing the brilliant scenery, it is worth visiting this quiet and beautiful Lama temple.
Gegentemple is a genuine Tibetan temple. "Gegen" in Mongolian means "Living Buddha", so Gegentemple can also be called "Living Buddha" temple. The temple was first built in the early Jiaqing period of the Qing Dynasty and was once the largest Lama temple in the Northeast.
The wheel of history is not gentle. Although this temple that has existed for more than a hundred years has not been completely obliterated in the smoke of history, it has also experienced several severe damages and was rebuilt and expanded to its current scale. Even so, the grandeur of the temple in the past, the chanting of monks, and the gathering of believers are difficult to reproduce.
Walking into it, the Tibetan-style buildings are magnificent and extraordinary. Today, the temple group is divided into five major parts: Fantong Temple, Guangshou Temple, Guangjue Temple, Hongji Temple, and Huitong Temple, with a total area of more than 60,000 square meters. It takes a long time to visit all.
If you feel the city is too noisy, it is appropriate to come to Gegentemple in the wilderness. Here you can see the rare Tibetan Buddhism in the inland area, and the history and architecture related to Tibetan culture are more mysterious because of their unfamiliarity.
On both sides of the wide and flat walkway are dense forests. The autumn wind dyes the leaves with autumn colors. Walking slowly, the sound of monks chanting and chanting Buddha comes from a distance, and the mood gradually calms down.
The four-story Tibetan-style hall is solemn and solemn under the blue sky. The red lacquered Ming column supports the golden top, and the eaves are painted with exquisite patterns, with carved beams and painted buildings, golden and brilliant.
The temple rebuilt by later generations has not been long, but the prayer wheel has already shown the traces of the years. Day after day, even if the scale and popularity of Gegentemple are not as good as before, there are still believers who turn the sacred sutra cylinder devoutly every day, praying for their wishes to come true.
The mysterious atmosphere unique to Tibetan temples and the quietness of autumn are particularly matched. The surroundings are quiet, and when you look up and see the quietly standing treasures, you suddenly have a solemn feeling of "raising your head three feet is a god".
Gegentemple