Baoguo Temple is an ancient Buddhist temple located in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, China. Situated at the southern foot of Lingshan Mountain in Anshan Village, Hongtang Subdistrict, Jiangbei District, the temple was originally built during the Eastern Han Dynasty and was initially named Lingshan Temple. It was renamed Baoguo Temple in the fifth year of the Guangming era of the Tang Dynasty (880 AD). It was rebuilt during the Northern Song Dynasty and underwent major renovations during the Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty. The Main Hall of Baoguo Temple is the oldest surviving structure in the complex. Built in the sixth year of the Dazhong Xiangfu era of the Northern Song Dynasty (1013 AD), it is one of the few extant wooden structures from the Northern Song period south of the Yangtze River. It serves as a significant physical example of the Song Dynasty architectural treatise “Treatise on Architectural Methods” (Yingzao Fashi) and is renowned for the phenomenon that “birds do not enter, insects do not bore, spiders do not spin webs, and dust does not settle on the beams.” In 1961, Baoguo Temple was listed among the first batch of Major Historical and Cultural Sites Protected at the National Level.
As of 2017, no religious activities are held at Baoguo Temple. It is managed by the Baoguo Temple Ancient Architecture Museum and is currently a 4A-rated tourist attraction, a National Second-Class Museum, and a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level.
After entering the gate, you need to climb uphill, which involves quite a few steps.
The entrance to Baoguo Temple looks quite unassuming, but the height of the trees suggests its long history.
The existing Hall of Heavenly Kings was built in the third year of the Xuantong reign of the Qing Dynasty (1911). It features a double-eaved hip-and-gable roof, with a façade five bays wide and four bays deep. The central bay is 5.80 meters wide, the secondary bays are 3.85 meters wide, and the end bays are 2.75 meters wide; the proportion between the central and secondary bays closely resembles that of Song Dynasty architecture. The central bay employs a post-and-lintel timber frame structure with seven purlins and added front and rear corridors, utilizing four columns with an open ceiling exposing the roof structure, and a seven-rafter beam spanning between the front and rear golden columns. The secondary and end bays include an additional central column, replacing the single seven-rafter beam with two three-step beams. Flower-basket-shaped camel humps are placed between the upper and lower beams, and relief-carved corbels are installed on the exterior of the lower eaves columns.
Hall of Heavenly KingsServing as the First Exhibition Hall of the Baoguo Temple Ancient Architecture Museum, it is dedicated to introducing the history, environment, and architectural models of Baoguo Temple.
Pure Land PoolBuilt during the Southern Song Dynasty, the pool is 13 meters long and 6 meters wide, planted with lotuses of four colors. The stone railings over the pool were added during the major renovation in the 23rd year of the Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty (1684), featuring the inscription “A Vast Expanse of Blue Embracing the Void” by Yan Jing, a Censor of the Ming Dynasty.
Main HallBuilt in the sixth year of the Dazhong Xiangfu era of the Northern Song Dynasty (1013 AD), it is also known as the Xiangfu Hall. Originally, the Main Hall featured a single-eaved hip-and-gable roof, measuring three bays in both width and depth. During the renovation in the 23rd year of the Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty (1684), two rows of columns were added to the front and sides, along with lower eaves. Due to terrain constraints at the rear, only one row of columns was added there. Following this renovation, the Main Hall became seven bays wide (21.6 meters) and six bays deep (19.85 meters). Externally, it presents a double-eaved appearance on three sides, while the rear remains single-eaved; the lower eaves on both sides terminate where they meet the rear enclosure wall.
The Main Hall was constructed 90 years before the publication of the Song Dynasty architectural treatise “Treatise on Architectural Methods” (Yingzao Fashi), yet many of its construction techniques align highly with the text, with some being unique surviving examples, such as the “cicada-belly bracket” component. The ceiling decoration integrates caisson ceilings, coffered ceilings, and plain flat ceilings, a combination unprecedented in architecture predating the “Treatise on Architectural Methods.” Although only three bays wide, the handling of its interior space is extremely sophisticated, making it an outstanding representative of Chinese wooden architecture. The Main Hall now serves as the Second Exhibition Hall of the Baoguo Temple Ancient Architecture Museum, showcasing the structure and architectural features of Baoguo Temple.
Other structures, including the Dharma Hall, Sutra Library, and Bell and Drum Towers, were all built during the Qing Dynasty or the Republic of China period.
There are no religious activities here; it is purely a place to visit and learn about ancient architecture. The facilities inside are quite modern, and the educational exhibits are excellent, providing detailed introductions to ancient construction tools, structures, and techniques. It serves as a teaching and research base for several top-tier universities with architecture programs, including Tsinghua University and Tongji University. If you have an interest in ancient architecture, a visit is highly recommended.
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