Linggu Temple Guide

Linggu Temple is a Buddhist temple in Nanjing, Jiangsu, China, to the east of Dr. Sun Yat-sen's Mausoleum.. The temple was described as 'the best Buddhist temple in the world'. It is now surrounded by a large park. It was built in the Liang Dynasty (502-557), one of the Southern Dynasties (420-589). Over time, its name has changed several times. Zhu Yuanzhang, the first emperor in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), gave it the current name of 'Linggu Temple'.
The environment here is very pleasant. The temple is surrounded by aged dark green trees. The sweet fragrance of flowers pervades, and the sound of the bell is melodious. The forest and springs around add vitality and wild pleasure to the temple.

The temple contains the Xuanzang Memorial Hall, Beamless Hall, Linggu Pagoda and Songfeng Pavilion. The Xuanzang Memorial Hall was built in memory of a famous monk in the Tang Dynasty (618-907). The picture of the route that Xuanzang walked and the sutra he translated are also stored here.
Beamless Hall was constructed in 1381, and is 22 metres high and 53.8 metres wide. The hall enjoys high reputation for its special architectural techniques. It has three archways on the front and rear sides respectively. The structure was built with bricks from the bottom to the top entirely, without a piece of wood or a single nail. Thus it was called Wuliang Hall, since Wuliang means beamless. It happens that the hall originally enshrined Amitayus (Buddha of Infinite Life) whose Chinese name pronounces the same with Wuliang. Later in 1928, the hall was turned into the memorial hall of soldiers who lost their lives in the War of Northern Expedition (1926–1927). More than 30,000 soldiers were enshrined.
Linggu Pagoda was built in 1929 as a sign of remembrance for those soldiers. The 9 stories pagoda stands 60.5 metres high. Speeches made by Dr. Sun Yat-Sen and epigraphs of Chiang Kai-Shek were inscribed on the tower.

The vegetarian diet here is renowned for over 600 years. The ingredients of the dishes are chosen very carefully; the cooking is very meticulous; the appearance of the food is also very nice. Though the dishes are without meat, the taste is even better than the ones with meat. Shensong House, the famous vegetarian restaurant in the temple, lies to the east of Songlin Pavilion. Surrounded Shensong House, is a thick forest and blooming flowers. Dining here can bring you both the wonderful taste of the food and an enjoyment of natural beauty.

• Confucius Temple
• Dr.Sun Yat-sen's Mausoleum
• The Presidential Mansion
• Yangtze River Bridge
• Nanjing Zhonghua Gate
• Nanjing City Wall
• Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall
• Qinhuai River
• Purple Mountain Observatory
• Mochou Lake
• Linggu Temple
• Purple Mountain
• Nanjing Municipal Museum
• Mount Huaguo
• Huaxi Village