The 1,400 year old Temple of the Six Banyan Trees is one of the four best Buddhist temples in Guangzhou.
It is a name given by the great liiterateur Su Dongpo in the Song Dynasty (960 - 1279). He visited there 
and found six banyan trees there particularly striking. The vitality of the trees put him in a good mood 
and cheered him up. When the abbot of the monastery invited him to suggest a name, he chose the Temple Of Six Banyan Trees.
 
From the mountain gate, the Tianwang Hall is the first hall you with The Laughing Buddha. Behind it is 
the Weituo Hall. According to legend, Weituo was a general who recaptured the Buddhist relics which had 
been stolen. The image shows a serious looking face.

 

The building has its roofs curved upwards looking like red flower petals. The tip of the pagoda is like 
stamens, while the whole construction looks like a huge stigma high in the air which locals refer to as 
The Flowery Pagoda.

 

To the west of the Six Banyan Pagoda is Daxiong Baodian Hall - the main hall of the temple. The three 
biggest copper Buddhist statues placed there are among the biggest and most ancient Buddhist statues in 
Guangdong. The middle one is Sakyamuni, to the left, the Amitabha and to the right, the Apothecary Buddha 
and represent  present, past and the future.

 

Burning joss sticks is a big event when visiting there. Thus every year on the Chinese traditional Spring 
Festival and Lantern Festival, this place becomes a busy area. Numerous people queue to burn the first 
joss stick in order to be blessed by gods in the coming year.

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