Yuquan Temple in Hongta District, Yuxi
Attraction Overview
Yuquan temple is majestic and grand in scale, consisting of seven shrine buildings, including the grand buddha's hall大雄宝殿, heavenly king's hall天王殿, the hall of patriarch祖师殿, pharmacist hall药师殿, Dizang palace地藏殿, hall of 500 arhats五百罗汉堂 and wealth hall财神殿. The grand buddha's hall enshrines Sakyamuni Buddha carved from sandalwood, 26.8 meters high, which is the highest indoor Buddha in southeast Asia.
Chinese Name: 玉溪玉泉寺
English Name: Yuquan Temple in Hongta District, Yuxi
Type: Temple and Historical Relics
Best Time: All year
Recommended Visiting Hours: 1-3 hours
Opening Hours: All day
Ticket: Free
Address: Dayingjie Street, Hongta District, Yuxi, Yunnan云南省玉溪市红塔区大营街
Why is Yuquan Temple So Special?
Yuquan Temple, located in Daying Street of Hongta District, Yuxi City, is adjacent to Yingyuetan映月谭 leisure culture center and Yingyuetan hot spring. It is a large-scale Buddhist activity site and a national AAAA level tourist attraction. The seven halls of Yuquan Temple are magnificent and grand in scale. The Buddha statue of Sakyamuni is 26.8 meters high and is the highest indoor Buddha in Southeast Asia. White jade reclining Buddha of Pharmacist hall weighs 16 tons, it is rare in the world.
Features of Yuquan Temple
According to records, there was an ancient temple called “Yuquan Temple” more than 200 years ago. The present Yuquan Temple is a large Buddhist activity site and a national AAAA class tourist attraction expanded on the basis of the original Yuquan Monastery. In December 1998, it broke ground and was fully completed on May 26 2002. The architectural format has the typical style of Chinese Buddhist monasteries in the south. Although not rebuilt on the former site, the name is no changed, its scale is far beyond the original temple. There are lush trees, bamboos and magnificent palaces in Yuquan Temple. The 16-ton Burmese white jade sleeping Buddha is the remains of Sakyamuni when nirvana. There are the grand buddha’s hall大雄宝殿, heavenly king’s hall天王殿, the hall of patriarch祖师殿, pharmacist hall药师殿, Dizang palace地藏殿, hall of 500 arhats五百罗汉堂 and wealth hall财神殿, magnificent and quiet. In addition, there are also quadrangle courtyard, Monks’ dwelling, guest hall, long corridor, free life pool, incense paper storehouse and other ancillary building facilities, for devotees to meditate禅修, incense上香, free life放生, get accommodation and rest.
Main Attractions of Yuquan Temple
1. Heavenly Kings’ Hall天王殿
The temple enshrines and worships Maitreya Bodhisattva (the future Buddha of Buddhism), Wei Tuo Bodhisattva, the four heavenly kings. Maitreya means mercy. Wei Tuo, also known as Wei Tuo Tian or Wei Tuo Heavenly General, is one of the main protectors of Buddhism. The four great heavenly kings are the Eastern Dhrtarastra(Chi Guo Heavenly King), the Southern Virulhaka(Zengzhang Heavenly King), the Western Virupakkha(Guangmu Heavenly King), and the Northern Vaisravana(Duo Wen Heavenly King), guarding the four great regions respectively.
2. Jiulong(nine dragons) Wall九龙壁
The four Chinese characters “福田妙果(Fu Tian Miao Guo)” on the front of the Jiulong Wall is written by famous Confucian Zhu Ming朱明 in Yuxi. Fu Tian(福田) is representative of the heart and soul, doing good deeds without begging to do, so that people can get the greatest blessing, what goes around comes around. Nine dragons totems of Jiulong Wall in China has the meanings of disaster prevention, peace, auspicious, fortune and so on. It symbolizes wealth, divine power and prosperity. In the feudal dynasty, nine dragons represented imperial throne.
3. Free Life Pond放生池
Kindness, abstinence from killing can make people live longer and eliminate disasters. In order to reflect Buddhism’s benevolence, Yuquan Temple built a free life pond, so that believers can free a variety of aquatic animals such as fish and turtles. There are nine stone lotuses in the pond, representing the purity of the Buddha.
4. Wealth Hall财神殿
The temple enshrines the statue of wealth God, the traditional folk deity of China. The wealth God is one of the five auspicious gods. Wealth Bodhisattva is the god in charge of the world’s wealth. The fifth day of the first lunar month is the birthday of the wealth god. Every New year, each family hangs wealth god figure, hoping the wealth god to bless a great fortune.
What’s more, there are the Great Buddha’s Hall, Pharmacist Hall, Patriarch Hall and Arhats hall, etc.
Nearby Attractions
1. Yingyuetan Hot Spring映月谭温泉
Yingyuetan Hot Spring upholds the natural style, carries forward health, leisure and ecological balance. It combines the most traditional hot spring culture and the latest concept of healthy leisure, coupled with the most considerate, sincere service to every tourist.
2. Yingyuetan Leisure Culture Center映月谭休闲文化中心
Yingyuetan leisure culture center is built by Yunnan Yuxi Tipping Paper Factory, the largest production enterprise of tipping paper in Asia, covering an area of more than 300 mu. It is a tourist service enterprise which integrates bath, accommodation, catering and tourism.
Best Time to Visit
Yuquan Temple visit is mainly indoor activities, therefore tour is possible all the year round.
How to Get there?
The fastest way to get to Hongta District of Yuxi is by train. And then, there are many taxis and minibuses at Yuxi Station you can choose to get to Yuquan Temple.
Kunming South Station-Yuxi Station
Departure Time: 8:10, 9:55, 10:07, 18:47, 19:13
Ticket Price: 32 CNY or 40 CNY
Distance: 81 kilometers
Consume Time: 32 minutes
Kunming Station-Yuxi Station
Departure Time: 5:36-17:20
Ticket Price: 16.5 CNY
Distance: 105 kilometers
Consume Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Accommodation around Yuquan Temple
Located at Daying street of Hongta District in Yuxi, there are many hotels you can choose around Yuquan Temple. Hongta District is the government seat of Yuxi City.
1. Yingyuetan Hot Spring Hotel玉溪映月谭温泉酒店
Address: 玉溪市红塔区大营街街道公园路
Tel: 0877-2770666
Starting Price: 411 CNY
2. Hongta Hotel玉溪红塔大酒店
Address: No.32, Hongta Avenue, Hongta District, Yuxi玉溪市红塔区红塔大道32号
Tel: 0877-2066666
Star Rating: 4-star
Useful Travel Tips
1. Hongta district is the government seat of Yuxi, so all aspects like transportation and accommodation are more convenient.
2. Yuquan Temple is close to Yingyuetan hot spring. Going to take a bath in Yingyuetan hot spring must be a good choice to relax yourself, after the visit at Yuquan Temple.
