susmithaD

What are the best temples in China?

thursdaysd

Define "best".

Buy a guidebook. Or start here: https://www.fodors.com/world/asia/china

Thanks to the Cultural Revolution most of the authentic Chinese temples are on Taiwan.

temppeternh

What thursdaysd said.

Oldest? Original Tang and even later Liao temples in Datong and south of Wutai Shan in northern Shanxi Province.

Largest single hall? The Ancestral Temple or Tai Miao in Beijing, rebuilt in 1545 but looking, except for details of the facade, as it did when originally constructed in 1420.

Confucian? In Qufu, Shandong Province. Buddhist--plenty of contenders. Tibetan Buddhist likewise. Daoist? Two in Beijing would be contenders. Best murals? Possibly Ledu in Qinghai. Most spectacularly located complex of temples? Possibly Wuyi Shan (and intact early-Ming at that). Best complexes of varied temples with several easy to see on one site? The Wai Ba Miao at Chengde would be a contender. Cave temples? Mogao, outside Dunhuang.

And so on.

Peter N-H
Oriental-List

susmithaD

Thanks for suggesting

thursdaysd

You might also pick up a second hand copy of "Travels Through Sacred China" by Martin Palmer (try abebooks.com). It's from 1996, so would only be a starting point, but it's the reason I went to Putuoshan, and I'm very glad I did.