White Horse Temple Ancient Architectural Complex - Hall Introduction 1

Located 12 kilometers east of Luoyang Old Town in Henan Province, Baima Temple was founded in the 11th year of Yongping in the Eastern Han Dynasty (68th year). It was the first government-run monastery built after the Buddhism was introduced to China. It is called as Chinese Buddhist "Ancestral Chamber" and "The Source of Release". White Horse Temple is a well-preserved, ancient building complex. The entire temple faces the south and is a long courtyard with a total area of about 40,000 square meters. The main buildings include the Heavenly King Hall, the Big Buddha Hall,the Great Buddha’s Hall, the Reception Hall, and the Pilu Pavilion, all of which are located on the north-south axis.

The Heavenly King Hall

The Heavenly King hall is the first hall in the temple. Gablet roof style, the center of the right ridge is decorated with a circular "Buddha". And the "Buddha" is carved with dragons and plastic lotuses on both sides. Both ends are decorated with Chiwei. The front of the ridge is characterized by "FengTiaoYuShun". On the back of the ridge, there is the words "GuoTaiMinAn". This temple is a building of the Yuan Dynasty. It was rebuilt by the Ming and Qing dynasties. The four heavenly kings are worshiped on both sides of the temple. Hence the name is Heavenly King Hall.

The Big Buddha Hall

The Great Buddha Hall is the main building of the White Horse Temple. The hall has nine ridges and been covered by pan roof tiles. The curved clay roof tiles are installed on cornices. The roof is dougong structure and canopy covering. Sakyamuni Buddha who is the founder of Buddhism is the worshiped statue of the Lord Buddha. He was big mercy, great wisdom, great magic. So it was named "The Big Buddha Hall." The Great Buddha Hall is the main hall of the temple and is a Ming Dynasty building. It was built on a platform of one meter high. The width direction have five houses. The depth direction have four houses. And it is a single eaves gablet roof style. The back wall and the two sides of the gable are built with wedge-shaped Han stones. And this shape is rare.