Huangmei Wuzu Temple

Wuzu Temple, originally named Dongshan Temple or Dong Chan Temple, was later renamed Wuzu Temple. It is located 12 kilometers east of Huangmei County in Hubei Province, on the Dongshan Mountain of Wuzu Town. It lies at the southern edge of the eastern end of the Dabie Mountains, overlooking Jiujiang across the river. The temple was first built in the fifth year of the Yonghui era of the Tang Dynasty (654 AD) and is the practice site of the fifth-generation patriarch of Chinese Zen Buddhism, Master Hongren. It is also the sacred place where the sixth patriarch, Master Huineng, received the Dharma and the robe and bowl, and it has been granted the imperial title of 'Ancestral Court of the World'. The entire Buddhist temple complex is built according to the terrain of Dongshan Mountain, divided into upper, middle, and lower parts, with an overall layout resembling that of an ancient palace, using a central axis symmetrical layout. On the central axis are the four main halls: the Heavenly Kings Hall, the Mahavira Hall, the Vairocana Hall, and the True Body Hall. In addition to these, there are the Macheng Hall, the Holy Mother Hall, the Thousand Buddha Hall, and other buildings such as the abbot's quarters, the meditation hall, the inspection room, the guest hall, and the 'I' hall, with all the temple buildings featuring interlaced bracketing architecture.