Changchun Prajna Temple - The Largest Buddhist Temple

Changchun Prajna Temple – The Largest Buddhist Temple

Changchun Prajna Temple is the largest Buddhist temple in Changchun city, in the Jilin Province of People's Republic of China. It was built in 1922 and today is the administration office of Association of Jilin Province and Changchun city. The temple complex sprawled an area of 15,000 square meters and ranked as No. 53 among 118 attractions in Changchun. The Prajna Temple is also known as Bo Re Temple. Through the main gate, the tourist are entering in to a compound flanked by bell and drum towers constructed in the ancient Chinese architectural style.

Protected historical site

Prajna temple is a protected site and is under the direct supervision of State Council. Located at the north eastern side of the People's Square of Changchun this temple is adorned with beautiful sculptured hall and gardens. The temple complex is divided in to three sectors, the Maitreya Hall, Main Hall and the West Temple. The main hall features most of the activities. Today monks are living here, and they do meditating and worshiping activities of the temple.

After the entrance there are two towers which are known as the Bell Tower on your right side and Drum Town on your left side. These bells are banged during special occasions or to indicate the arrival of distinguished guests. Further ahead is the Heavenly King Hall. Here you can see four heavenly kings who represents as the protectors of sacred Buddhist world.

Statue of Sakyamuni

The whole temple complex is pillared around the Grand Great Buddha's Hall, The statue of Sakyamuni, who is the founder of Buddhism in China is placed at the center of the hall. His 18 disciples - Arhats – are positioned on both side of the statue. Every month during 8th, 18th and 28th are the important days for the temple and there will be celebrations. Lots of pilgrims and visitors throng in to the temple during these days.

The three sectors

As said earlier the temple has three sectors. The first sector is known as the Hall of Maitreya. This hall is dedicated to Maitreya and is made of white marble in a sitting position. Here you can see the inscription which denoted the year of construction of Maitreya. The center hall is the second sector which is the largest one. The western temple is the third sector. The third sector is a two storey structure known as Xieshan. The upstairs portion is known as Canon House and the down floor is used to worship Buddha. A Bodhisattva statue is placed in the ground floor.

Towards the western side of the temple on both sides is the backyard hall of the main hall. The eastern side hall is called as Guanyin Temple and the western side hall is known as the temple of Earth Store Bodhisattva. This court yard is rich with cypress and pine trees add up the serenity of the surrounding. In the western side is the third temple and is the Bran Ruosi end. Beyond this point is the market and streets.

Travel Tips:

From Jilin City, reaching to Prajna temple is very easy. There are lots of tourist bus services are operation to this scenic and historical spot. A very minimal entry is fee of CNY 8 is charged per head. You will always cherish visiting this beautiful temple!