Come to the ancestral home of the Hehe culture, and worship China's own gods of love and marriage

Suzhou has many cultural hallmarks, such as gardens, Suzhou craftsmanship, Kunqu opera, Pingtan narrative singing, Suzhou embroidery, and the bells of Hanshan Temple are certainly one of them. Visit the Maple Bridge scenic area where the great poet Zhang Ji once moored his boat, enjoy a serving of Guanyin's blessed noodles, contemplate the way of harmony, get a stamp, and engage in activities like fish petting, cat cuddling, and bell ringing... Hanshan Temple, originally built during the Tianjian era of the Southern Dynasties (502-519), is also known as 'Miaoli Pubright Court'. During the Tang Dynasty's Kaiyuan era, Monk Xiqian established the temple, and because the poet-monk Hanshan once practiced in seclusion here, it was named Hanshan Temple, one of China's top ten famous temples. Hanshan was one of the three great vernacular poets of the Tang Dynasty and was revered as a patriarch during America's hippie movement. His inseparable friend Shide once traveled to Japan to spread the teachings and established 'Shide Temple' there. The two were considered eccentric and unrestrained, and in Buddhism, they were seen as incarnations of the Bodhisattvas Manjusri and Samantabhadra, thus becoming symbols of harmony among the people. Later, Hanshan and Shide became deities overseeing marriage, known as the 'Joyous Gods of Harmony', and were granted the title 'Hehe Ersheng' by Emperor Yongzheng, with the alternative name 'Joyous Heaven and Earth'. Hanshan Temple is the ancestral home of the Hehe culture, and today the temple houses the Hanshi Spring and Hanshi Hall. Hanshi Hall, located inside the Sutra Depository, is adorned with carvings on the roof ridge depicting the return from the journey to the West to obtain the true scriptures. Here, the joyous Hehe Immortals are worshipped, with their bare chests and smiling faces. They embody the beauty of adulthood and inherit the virtues of Tai Bo, Zhong Yong, and Ji Zha, who thrice declined the throne, and are deeply revered by the people. 'If I am joyful, my troubles are few; the troubles of the world turn into joyous smiles.' In the Wu region, there is a custom of ringing bells at midnight, known as 'Fenye Bell' or 'Dingye Bell'. The Tang Dynasty poet Zhang Ji, after failing the imperial examination and seeking to avoid the 'An Lushan Rebellion', traveled south along the Grand Canal. Due to the canal being blocked, he moored at Maple Bridge. Hearing the midnight bell, his traveler's sorrow surged, and he wrote the timeless masterpiece 'Night Mooring at Maple Bridge', which was later included in the 'Complete Tang Poems' by Gao Zhongwu, becoming a household name. Hanshan Temple faces east and west, with the ancient canal just outside the temple, likely for the convenience of boat passengers coming ashore to offer incense. The mountain gate bears the inscription 'Miaoli Zongfeng' written by the late Qing Jiangsu Governor Cheng Dequan. Generations of literati have come here to recite poetry and inscribe words. The temple houses three stele pavilions displaying many famous calligraphic works by figures such as Yue Fei, Wang Gui, Shen Du, Tang Yin, Wen Zhengming, Yu Yue, Kang Youwei, Li Dazhao, Liu Haisu, Lian Zhan, and others. The poetry stele written by the great master of simplicity Yu Yue is considered a unique treasure of Hanshan Temple. In front of the Mahavira Hall, there are two Chenglu platforms, covered with ginkgo leaves swept from the roof by the temple monks. The Chenglu platform was originally built by Emperor Wu of Han under the influence of an old Taoist, and later became a platform for offering food to the departed spirits. The main hall features yellow walls and grey tiles, with a single-eave hipped-gable roof. The openwork ridge is adorned with a coiled dragon sculpture, with Ao fish ridge crests at both ends. The hanging and oblique ridges are made of openwork spliced tiles, with Vajra warriors standing at the ends of the hanging ridges. The Buddha niche's backdrop in the Mahavira Hall is a stone carving of 'Hanshan and Shide' by Luo Pin, one of the 'Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou' from the Qing Dynasty. The highest point within the temple is the Puming Pagoda. The Puming Pagoda is a Tang-style five-tiered wooden pagoda with flying eaves and upturned corners, solemn and robust. Each side has a door, with the plaque 'Puming Pagoda' hanging high above each door, inscribed by Zhao Puchu, Xie Xiaosi, Fei Xinwo, and Shen Peng. In 1993, Monk Xingkong initiated the construction of the Hanshan Annex. Inside the Fan Yin Pavilion of the Hanshan Annex hangs 'China's First Dharma Bell', which is also the world's largest redwood bell tower. The bell weighs 108 tons, stands 8.6 meters tall, and is currently the largest Buddhist bell in the world.