Yongquan Temple

Yongquan

Yongquan Temple is located at the foot of the White Cloud Peak of Gushan Mountain, 455 m. above sea level. Built in the Five Dynasties period, it tops the list of five Buddhist temples in Fuzhou and is well-preserved. Nestled under the peak, the temple seems to be hidden and visitors can not see it whether they are walking, taking a bus or a cable car. Even after entering the gate of the temple, they still can not see the whole temple. The saying goes that "Once you enter the mountain, you can not see the temple; while entering the temple, you cannot see the mountain."

The temple houses three invaluable state treasures. The first is the pair of 7-meter ’’pottery pagodas’’ flanking the temple, which were built in the Song dynasty, and which feature over 1000 images of the Buddha. The second treasure is the collection of nearly 10,000 Buddhist classic printing plates from the Ming Dynasty onward. The third is a collection of 657 copies of classics written in blood by monks through the ages. The monks pricked their own fingers and wrote the classics with their blood.