The best time to visit Zhouzhuang Quanfu Temple: April to October every year for better views
Quanfu Temple is located on the bank of the Baijiang River on the west side of Zhouzhuang Town . In the first year of Yuanyou of the Song Dynasty (1086), Zhou Digonglang, a native of Li, built his house into a temple, located on the bank of Bai Clam Lake. After successive generations of expansions, the Vatican palaces overlapped, and the incense was strong, making it a well-known temple. In the 1950s, the temple was converted into a grain depot. With the development of tourism in Zhouzhuang Town, Quanfu Temple was rebuilt in 1995. In less than a year, a temple garden with water as its scenery was built.
Quanfujiang Temple is located on the central axis of the whole park. Its main buildings include: Shanmen, Zhigui Pavilion, Daxiong Hall, Sutra Storehouse, etc. The entire temple has a neat structure, majestic halls, yellow walls, exposed tiles, carved beams and painted pillars, making it a magnificent sight. The scenery is set by water, which is ingenious, and the pavilions and palaces are lined up in rows. It has both the profoundness of Buddhist culture, the beauty of architectural art, and the picturesque garden scenery, which makes tourists linger and forget to return.
There are five entrances to the Quanfu Temple. The main building is the Mahavira Hall. It is twice as large as the major temples in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. According to the "Zhouzhuang Town Chronicles" of the Qing Dynasty, the statue of the Tathagata Buddha in Yunyan Temple at Huqiu Haiyong Peak in Suzhou was built in the fifth year of Shunzhi in the Qing Dynasty (1648). Yang Chengzu, the commander-in-chief, stationed troops at Bailang Lake to greet him in the temple. To the left and right of the Buddha stand the statues of Manjusri and Samantabhadra, which are as majestic as two peaks. The eighteen Arhats on both sides have different expressions and are lifelike. Li Xiangen, a calligrapher of the Qing Dynasty, visited Quanfu Temple. He saw that the temple was located amidst the beautiful scenery of lakes and mountains, and a giant plaque inscribed with the name of Buddha in the Water was gleaming on the mountain gate. As soon as you enter the mountain gate, you stand on the shore of South Lake. In front of the gate, the lake is shining, and the water port pier lies flat on the blue waves. Entering the mountain gate, the five-hole stone arch bridge spans the lotus pond. The stone railings on the bridge support each other. When you stop on the bridge, you will be immersed in the poetic and picturesque scene of thousands of layers of green cover and thousands of red makeup. Crossing the arch bridge, you can reach Zhigui Pavilion directly. The third entrance is the Mahavira Hall. The cornices are raised and the corners are surrounded by verandas. The house is 18 meters high, and the four characters "Buddha's Light" shine brightly on the neck ridge. The brick carvings of plum, orchid, bamboo and chrysanthemum are unique in composition, delicate and elegant. Stepping into the hall, countless big and small Buddhas with solemn treasures overlap one another, coming from all directions, as if you are visiting a Buddhist kingdom.