Located in the downtown area of Shanghai, Jade Buddha Temple is one of the must-see attractions of the city. As a pure land with peaceful and venerable atmosphere, it still be an active temple with 70 resident monks. Although without very long history, the classical architectural style makes Jade Buddha Temple unique and attractive in this modern city.

Covering an area of 77 acres, Jade Buddha Temple was originally built in the year of 1882 of Qing Dynasty (1638-1911). With neat and ingenious architecture style, formed a splendid appearance, it is the temple where enshrines two jade Buddha statues. Along the central axis, there stand the main buildings including Devajara Hall, Mahavira Hall and the Jade Buddha Tower. On the east and west sides there totally has over 200 halls and rooms. The temple was destroyed during the revolution that overthrew the Qing Dynasty. Fortunately the statues were saved and a new temple was built in 1928 and was named the Jade Buddha Temple.

Two jade Buddha Statues
The Sitting Buddha and the Reclining Buddha are the rare cultural relics both of which are carved with whole white jade. The Sitting Buddha is 1.92 meters high carved by the agate and the emerald. The beautiful decorated Sitting Buddha is an explaining-Buddhism Sakyamuni sit in the Jade Buddha Tower. The Reclining Buddha is a statue of Parinirvana Sakyamuni 0.96 meters long. Lying on the right side, the statue has his right hand supporting the head and the left hand placing on the left leg. The sedate face shows the peaceful mood of Sakyamuni when he left this world. Besides, there is another grand Reclining Buddha brought from Singapore in 1989, which is 4 meters long.

Besides the Sitting Buddha and the Reclining Buddha, Jade Buddha Temple also stores a large amount of classic Buddhist works, paintings and sculptures. Whether you are a Buddhist or not, the Jade Buddha Temple is a good place to visit during the tour in Shanghai. The peaceful atmosphere adds a kind of richness to the busy modern society.