The Qita Chan Buddhist Temple (), or Seven Pagodas Temple, is a

Chan Buddhist Chan (; of ), from Sanskrit '' dhyāna'' (meaning "meditation" or "meditative state"), is a Chinese school of Mahāyāna Buddhism. It developed in China from the 6th century CE onwards, becoming especially popular during the Tang and So ...

temple located in the Yinzhou District of

Ningbo Ningbo (; Ningbonese: ''gnin² poq⁷'' , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), formerly romanized as Ningpo, is a major sub-provincial city in northeast Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. It comprises 6 urban districts, 2 sate ...

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , Chinese postal romanization, also romanized as Chekiang) is an East China, eastern, coastal Provinces of China, province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable citie ...

, China. It is the only major

temple complex within the city proper of Ningbo. It is listed as a "Han Chinese Buddhist Temple of National Significance". Since 2011 it has been listed as a relic being protected by the provincial government. The history of the temple dates back to the

Tang Dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdom ...

(618-907) in 858 A.D. It was first called the Dongjin Chan Courtyard (). The temple has gone through multiple cycles of destruction and re-building. At the beginning of the

Qing Dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-spea ...

(1644–1911) seven pagodas were known to be placed in front of the entrance of the temple. Since then it has been given its present name. During the Qing Dynasty the temple was the site of the dissemination of the

Linji school The Línjì school () is a school of Chan Buddhism named after Linji Yixuan (d. 866). It took prominence in Song China (960–1279), spread to Japan as the Rinzai school and influenced the nine mountain schools of Korean Seon. History Song d ...

of Buddhism. The temple was badly damaged during the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goa ...

, it was eventually restored and reopened in 1980. In April 2017, the temple established a Buddhist library which is opened to public. The temple is accessible via Line 1 of

Ningbo Rail Transit Ningbo Rail Transit, also known as the Ningbo Metro, is a rapid transit system serving the city of Ningbo, Zhejiang and its suburbs. Six metro lines are being built inside the urban area of Ningbo, serving Haishu, Jiangbei, Zhenhai, Beilun an ...

; the nearest station is Jiangxia Bridge East Station.

External links

Official Website
(Chinese) {{DEFAULTSORT:Qita Temple Buddhist temples in Ningbo Linji school temples