Temple of Universal Tranquility

Situated to the north of the Mountain Hamlet to Flee the Heat, the Temple of Universal Tranquillity was built in 1755 by Qing emperor Qianlong in pursuance of Emperor Kangxi, his grandfather's policy of "control through conciliation and in commemoration of his victory in suppressing the rebellion of the upper strata of the Junggar people in Xinjiang. The temple consists of many magnificent halls and laid out in apple-pie order, covering an area of 23,000 square metres. Its front half follows the layout of the Buddhist monasteries of the Han people. The Grand Hall of the Buddha is characteristic of the ancient architecture of the Han people. Its rear half is based on the Buddhist concept of the world as manifested in the sacred place of Tibetan Lamaism, the Sameye Monastery. The 36.75-metre-high Hall of Mahayana and its surrounding terraces, halls and Lamaist pagodas with their peculiar layouts bespeaks the unique style of the Tibetan plastic arts. The huge wooden image of the Buddha in the Hall of Mahayana is a rare image of its kind (tree wood such as pine, cypress, elm, fir and linden are used for carving the giant Buddha). With an exact height of 23.511 metres towering up through the building's five storeys, known as the Goddess of Mercy (Guanyin) with a thousand hands and a thousand eyes, the wooden Buddhist figure with golden paint measures nearly 10 metres around the waist and weighs about 110 tons. Well-proportioned and magnificent, this Buddha is one of the largest wood sculptured Buddhas still existing in China. Each of the Buddha's fingers on its 42 arms is thicker than an average person's leg. On the head of the statue stands a smaller image, 1.2 metres tall, which according to tradition represents Guanyin's teacher Amitabha. His position on top of Guanyin's head denotes the high esteem in which he was held. In the first half of 1999, the Buddha was listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the tallest statue of its kind in the world. The figure, which was carved in 1755, is made of 120 cubic metres of wood, enough to build a four-storey house. The Central Research Institute for Relics Protection and the Prospecting and Designing Institute under the Ministry of Construction measured its exact height, 27.21 metres.

The Hall of the Great Vehicle is surrounded by a number of smaller halls and white terraces, which are arranged in a mandala pattern, representing the structure of the universe. The hall itself symbolizes Mount Sumeru, the centre of the Buddhist universe, and surrounding it are the "four greater continents" and the "eight lesser continents."

Renovation of the famous wooden statue of Avalokitesvara in the Temple of Universal Tranquillity was started in late 1998. The project's implementation was divided into two stages. During the first stage, high-tech methods were used to steam-clean the Buddha, which towers 22 metres and has 42 arms with an eye on each palm. Modelled on a Tibetan temple, the Temple of Universal TranquiUity is a key relic’s site under State protection. In 1994, it was evaluated worthy of the World Cultural Heritage List together with the other historical interests in Chengde, where the famous Imperial Summer Resort is located.

China Travel website will lead you to discover symbolized Silk Road Tours, unique ice-covered Tibet Tours, magnificent Yangtze River Tours…It will introduce the famous traveling city Guilin and Yangshuo which the scenery is second to none in Guilin. China has rich culture and history.

Luxurious Guilin Hotels, Holiday Villages, folk travel will cater the foreigners many ideal accommodations. As well as Yangshuo China Tours Guide information: the world fairyland; Chinese culture, with a long history. Yangshuo Attraction, Guilin Attraction guide, China Attraction guide, Chinese history and culture exhibition, all beautiful China hills and water, and Yangshuo China Hotels.

Guilin not only has beautiful scenery and human sites, but also has diversity of folk culture. It will show you rich Yangshuo Tour Packages, furthermore, provide Chinese medicine, kongfu and paintings and other Guilin Tours. For the foreign friends who love the Chinese culture.

Guilin Travel make you a taste of a long history and colorful culture of the people style, and hill and water scenery harmony grade of city or style, To meet the modern needs of diversified tourism. So don't miss this great opportunity to experience the natural beauty and unique folk-customs of Guilin in person.

There are many relative articles on these subjects, if you want to know more about it, just click it.
Yangshuo tour- Waterside Pavilion (Hotels in China, Li River), Yangshuo tour- Covered Corridor (Yangshuo Guilin Sights) , Yangshuo tour- Marble Boat (China Hotels, Guilin Hotels)