Jingci Temple
Jingci Temple (simplified Chinese: 净慈寺; traditional Chinese: 淨慈寺; pinyin: Jìngcí Sì) is located at the foot of Huiri Peak of Nanping Hill. It is the second prominent Buddhist temple beside West Lake in Hangzhou, China. Together with Lingyin Temple, it is called the jewel of the southern and northern hills. The temple was claimed as a key national Buddhist temple in Han areas by the State Council in 1983.
History
Jingci Temple was originally called Huiri Yongming Temple (慧日永明院). It was first built in 954 by King Qian Chu of the Wuyue kingdom for a famous monk Yongming Yanshou. In the Southern Song dynasty, its name was changed to Jingci Temple, and the "500 Luohan Hall" was built. The temple was destroyed and rebuilt several times in the history. The majority of present temple was built in the 1980s. Specially, there is a newly forged copper bell, weighing over 100 Kilograms. On it is carved The Lotus Sutra (妙法莲花经), with 68,000 characters.
It hosts one of Ten Scenes of West Lake, "Evening Bell Ringing at the Nanping Hill" (南屏晚钟).
Coordinates: 30°13′46″N 120°08′56″E / 30.2295°N 120.1490°E