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Located in Fengqiao town outside the Suzhou city, the Hanshan Temple was constructed in the Jiannian Reign of the Liang Dynasty (502-519) with a history of over 1400 years. The legend says in the Zhenguan Reign of the Tang Dynasty, the famous monks Hanshan and Shide came here from the Tiantai Mountain to conduct prayer services, hence the name of the Temple.
Shrouded in the lush forests, and built with glazed tiles and yellow walls Hanshan Temple was crisscross with winding paths and overgrown with verdant pines and cypresses. Its main buildings include Daxiongbaodian (The Precious Hall of Sakyamuni), the wing halls, the hall of scriptures, verandas with tablets, the bell tower, the tower of Fengjian etc. Enshrined in the right wing hall are two obese figures, the statues of Hanshan and Shide, dishevelled and stripped to the waist, seated on an enormous lotus flower-shaped basin, one holding a vase and the other, lotus flowers. They are all smiles as if trying to tease the visitors. The stone pedestal for Buddhas in the grand hall is sculptured on its sides with 36 poems by Hanshan and the images of Shide and Banwu in bold outline. Displayed in the two wing halls are 500 camphorwood-carved statues of arhats. Vivid and in simple style, they were carved with excellent workmanship.
The characteristic tourist program of listening to the bell tolls of the Hanshan Temple on the New Year's Eve has been an exceptionally grand occasion since its beginning in 1979. On every New Year's Eve, thousands of visitors at home and abroad gather inside and outside the temple to listen to the one hundred and eight bell tolls and pray for luck and happiness in the new year.
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