The Great Bao’en Temple Heritage Site is the highest-grade, largest-scale, and best-preserved temple ruin in China. The heritage park protectively displays the thousand-year-old underground palace and precious gallery of the Great Bao’en Temple, as well as world-class national treasures unearthed from the underground palace, including stone coffins, iron coffins, the Seven-Treasure King Ashoka Pagoda, and gold coffins with silver outer coffins. It is an important part of the Confucius Temple-Qinhuai Scenic Belt. In 2008, a large number of world-class cultural relics and sacred objects were unearthed from the underground palace of Changgan Temple (the predecessor of the Great Bao’en Temple), shocking the world and the Buddhist community. These included the world’s only “True Sarira of the Buddha’s Crown,” “Responsive Sarira,” “Sarira of Various Saints,” and the “Seven-Treasure King Ashoka Pagoda.” In 2011, it was named one of the “Top Ten New Archaeological Discoveries in China for 2010.” In 2013, it was verified and announced by the State Council as a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level. At the end of 2015, the Great Bao’en Temple Heritage Park officially opened to the public.
The Great Bao’en Temple is the oldest Buddhist temple in Chinese history. Its predecessor was the Jianchu Temple and the King Ashoka Pagoda built during the Chiwu era of Eastern Wu (238–250 AD). It was the second temple in China after the White Horse Temple in Luoyang, the first Buddhist temple established in southern China, and a center of Chinese Buddhism. Along with Linggu Temple and Tianjie Temple, it was known as one of the Three Great Temples of Jinling, with jurisdiction over a hundred temples. The Great Bao’en Temple was built by Emperor Chengzu of Ming, Zhu Di, to commemorate Emperor Taizu of Ming, Zhu Yuanzhang, and Empress Ma. It was rebuilt on the original site of Jianchu Temple in the 10th year of Yongle (1412), taking 19 years to complete and costing 2.485 million taels of silver, utilizing 100,000 soldiers and civilian laborers. The construction of the Great Bao’en Temple was extremely exquisite, built entirely according to imperial palace standards, resplendent and illuminated day and night. The entire temple complex was grand in scale, comprising more than 30 halls and pavilions, 148 monk quarters, 118 corridor rooms, and 38 scripture rooms. It was the largest and highest-specification temple in Chinese history, ranking first among all temples.
The Glazed Pagoda of the Great Bao’en Temple stood 78.2 meters high, constructed entirely of glazed tiles. A total of 146 eternal lamps were placed inside and outside the pagoda. From its completion until its destruction, it remained the tallest building in China and a miracle in world architectural history. Listed as one of the Seven Wonders of the Medieval World, it was regarded by Westerners of that time as an iconic symbol of China, earning the reputation of “China’s Great Antique, Yongle’s Great Kiln Ware,” and was known as “The First Pagoda Under Heaven.”
This scenic area differs significantly from previous heritage sites. First, it is very new, featuring a completely new design that ingeniously integrates the ruins with modern architecture, allowing visitors to view the historical site while within the building and experience the intersection of history and modernity. Throughout the tour, the architecture feels distinctly contemporary, offering many popular photo spots. Of course, this is strictly a heritage park; the Great Bao’en Temple itself has not been reconstructed. The reconstruction of the Glazed Pagoda also features a completely different new design. To avoid disturbing the ruins, four sets of steel pipe diagonal beams span above the site, with ground beam footings located outside the entire pagoda base ruins, forming a new “inverted bowl-shaped” underground palace and creating a new space for enshrining and venerating sacred objects atop the original underground palace ruins.
Exquisite models illustrate the construction process of the Great Bao’en Temple
Of course, in addition to these contemporary artworks, over 60 sets of treasures unearthed from the underground palace back then are also on display, including stone coffins, the Seven-Treasure King Ashoka Pagoda, and two sets of gold coffins with silver outer coffins. Surrounding this gilded Seven-Treasure King Ashoka Pagoda are 1:1 replicas of 12 other King Ashoka Pagodas from across China.
Considerable effort has also gone into the landscaping outside the building
The museum houses numerous Buddhist art pieces, making it perfect for taking photos
Completely different from the original, the new pagoda allows visitors to ascend to the top via elevator, offering great convenience. The floor plan of the new pagoda matches the octagonal shape of the ancient tower. Its core consists of two interlocking rotated squares forming lotus petals, symbolizing flowers blooming over Bodhi. Through progressive tapering and roof reconstruction, it echoes the form of the ancient pagoda, recreating its classical charm using contemporary technology. Buddhist niches are set into the pagoda walls; on single levels, there is one niche on the east-west axis and two on the north-south axis, while double levels follow the reverse pattern, creating a spiraling upward momentum that aligns with the concept of “rotating sutras.”
New Underground Palace Inside the Pagoda
Finally, there is a Chinese Buddhist Canon exhibition area, followed by a cultural and creative products zone. Overall, this is a highly modern and thoughtfully designed scenic area. It is indeed rare to see newly built scenic areas constructed after 2010, and it feels like an interesting exploration of heritage sites in a new era. Naturally, some visitors may feel it is too modern, with hardly any trace of history left, but with so many historical sites out there, why worry about just this one?~~~
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