Bao'en Temple

Hidden in the small county town's "Deep Mountain Palace". The moment you enter this temple, you truly wish you could deeply engrave all of its ingenious beauty into your eyes and heart. Photos can't capture one thousandth of the actual scene, and standing in every corner of the temple makes one linger and watch for a long time. The temple was founded in the fifth year of the Zhengtong era of the Ming Dynasty (1440), and it took 20 years to complete (the first year of the Tianshun era). The six wonders of the Bao'en Temple: ① The main body of the Thousand-Handed Guanyin is carved from a single piece of golden Phoebe nanmu wood. 2 Dou Gong: Exquisitely made, with lavish decorations inside and out, a rich variety and numerous amounts, each hall's dou gong is unique, earning it the title of "Dou Gong Museum". 3 The building material is exclusively Phoebe nanmu wood, as Pingwu was historically a nanmu producing area, and the temple was built with local materials. ④ Murals: They blend the painting styles of the early and middle Ming Dynasty as well as local artists, and are influenced to some extent by Tibetan Buddhist aesthetics, with grand scale and exquisite craftsmanship. 5 The Huayan Sutra Wheel, constructed of golden Phoebe nanmu wood, is the treasure of the temple. ⑥ This place is where ten thousand dragons gather; it is said that there are 9999 dragons within the temple, these dragon shapes are integrated into the corridors, walls, sculptures, columns, arches, etc., hence it is also known as the "Deep Mountain Dragon Palace". The temple is well-preserved, and we are so fortunate to be able to appreciate such exquisite early Ming Dynasty architecture, murals, relief sculptures, and sculptures from such a close distance! ⑦ Directions: Pingwu Bao'en Temple (It's over three hours from Chengdu; one and a half hours from Jiangyou. Ticket: 40 yuan. P Parking: There is a parking lot in the square in front of the temple, charging 10 yuan. The temple is now used for visiting and studying architecture and history, so there is no vegetarian meal service, nor can incense be offered, but you can pay respects to Buddha. A two-day trip can be arranged: Day one: Chengdu—Pingwu Bao'en Temple Day two: Pingwu—Pingtong Plum Grove—Return trip J For Pingtong Plum Grove, please see the next note.

The most complete revolving sutra repository in China is located here. Pingwu Bao'en Temple is situated at the northeast corner of the county town of Pingwu County, Sichuan Province. It was built by Wang Xi, the deputy envoy of Longzhou during the Ming Dynasty, to repay imperial grace from the fifth to the eleventh year of the Zhengtong era (1440-1446). Bao'en Temple faces west and is aligned eastward, with the main axis sequentially arranged with the mountain gate, the Hall of Heavenly Kings, the Mahavira Hall, and the Pavilion of Ten Thousand Buddhas. In front of the Mahavira Hall on both sides, to the east is the Hall of Great Compassion, and to the west is the Avatamsaka Sutra Repository. The ingeniously crafted revolving sutra repository inside the Avatamsaka Sutra Repository is one of the most important cultural relics of Bao'en Temple. Commonly known as the 'Starry Chariot,' it resembles a seven-tiered pagoda soaring into the sky, standing 11 meters tall with a diameter of 7 meters. It is the best-preserved one in the country and has extremely high historical and artistic value. The golden dragons surrounding the revolving sutra repository seem ready to leap out with their eyes wide open and claws outstretched. The entrance fee for Pingwu Bao'en Temple is 40 yuan, which is very worthwhile! The Jiumen Expressway will open by the end of the year, making it very convenient to travel from Chengdu to Pingwu. Start planning no

Pingwu Baoen Temple, also known as 'Imperial Edict Repair Baoen Temple' and 'Deep Mountain Forbidden City', has a history of more than 600 years. The entire building is made of Phoebe zhennan wood, with strict regulations. Inside the temple, there is the only remaining rotating scripture repository that can still be turned, a thousand-hand Guanyin carved from a whole piece of Phoebe zhennan wood, and the woodcarved murals are all top-notch. It is said that there are 9999 dragons in the temple, which is on par with the Forbidden City.

⛰️Scenic Area Introduction 1⃣️Pingwu Baoensi covers an area of over 3500 square meters. The temple was built in the fifth year of the Ming Dynasty (1440) and was completed in the fourth year of the reign of Emperor Yingzong (1460). 2⃣️Pingwu Baoensi, together with Qutan Temple in Qinghai and Zhihua Temple in Beijing, is one of the most well-preserved early Ming Dynasty architectural complexes in China. The entire temple faces west to east, with a glazed wall, steps, and a Suan Ni in front of the temple gate, and a sutra banner on the square in front of the temple. The entire group of buildings has well preserved the appearance of the early Ming Dynasty. 3⃣️Pingwu Baoensi is one of the few examples of early Ming Dynasty official temple architecture in China that has been preserved intact; it is a rare example of a Tibetan Buddhist temple with a Han architectural style in a minority area, and is a typical representative of the integration of multi-ethnic cultures; it is also an important historical witness of the special political system in multi-ethnic border areas. 🎫Tickets: 40 yuan/person, explanation 60 yuan/person 🚗Transportation: 1⃣️You can drive by yourself, directly navigate to Baoensi in Pingwu County. (It is recommended to drive by yourself, because whether you take the national highway or the expressway, you will be traveling through the valley, and the scenery along the way is good. You can stop and go to enjoy it slowly.) 2⃣️You can go to Pingzheng Station and take the bus directly to Pingwu from Mianyang. 52 yuan/person or 45 yuan/person 3⃣️You can take the bus directly to Pingwu at Jiangyou Bus Station. 34 yuan/person ⚠️: The Mianjiu Expressway officially opened at 12 o'clock on December 29, 2023, and it is free for one year. This way, the time from Mianyang to Pingwu can be shortened by 1.5 hours. If you have time, you can go to Pingwu more often, and you can also go to Wanglang to see the snow-capped mountains🏔️ 🕹️Address: Baoensi, Pingwu County

▶︎ Baoen Temple has several unique features. A complete Ming Dynasty architectural group, the 'Ming Dynasty murals' inside the Daxiong Hall, the 'Thousand-Hand Guanyin' carved from thousand-year-old Nanmu in the Da Bei Hall, and the treasure of the temple: the 'prayer wheel' in the Huayan Collection. ▶︎ The 'prayer wheel' contains the 'Tripitaka', which can be rotated to achieve the same merit as chanting sutras. ▶︎ The existing 'prayer wheels' are extremely rare, and less than a hundred kilometers downstream of the Fujiang River, there is also a Song Dynasty prayer wheel in the 'Yunyan Temple' on the Dou Tuan Mountain, the only Taoist prayer wheel in the world, which is rare. . 🎈P1-4: The Ming Dynasty 'prayer wheel' in the Huayan Collection. ▷ The 'prayer wheel' is actually a rotating tower for storing sutras, and rotating it can accumulate merit, so it is regarded as a super large prayer wheel. ▷ The 'Tripitaka' in it witnessed the history of Chinese block printing, and its craftsmanship matured in the Sichuan area during the Song Dynasty. . ✨P5: The 'Ming Dynasty murals' in the Daxiong Hall. The murals were painted in the eleventh year of the Ming Dynasty (1446). . 🎊P6-8: Daxiong Hall and Nine Dragon Plaques. ▷ The Ming Dynasty Tusi Wang Xi built the Baoen Temple in the deep mountains, which was reported for its oversized scale and form. ▷ To avoid punishment, he erected the 'Long live the Emperor' Nine Dragon Plaque, and finally escaped. . 🍭P9: The 'Wooden Thousand-Hand Guanyin' in the Da Bei Hall. It is carved from a thousand-year-old Nanmu, gilded all over, wearing a crown, with a necklace hanging to the ground, standing barefoot on a lotus throne, nine meters high. . 🎄P10: Stele Pavilion. ▷ The two imperial edicts in the pavilion are the amusing pardons issued by the Ming Yingzong, and the edict for the stele is 'Since he is a local official, he is not an example, let him pass this time, respect this'. ▷ This plaque and stele are the golden pardons for Baoen Temple to survive to this day. . 🏕️P11: The Four Heavenly Kings and Arhat statues. The plaque of the Heavenly King Hall is unique, pulled up by two strong men, with a unique style. .