Gude Temple

Basic Information of the Gude Temple

Chinese Name: 古德寺 Pronunciation: gǔ dé sì

Building Time: 1877

Best Visiting Season: All seasons

Recommended Time for Visit: 1-2 Hours

Occupied Area: About 30,000 square meters

Address: No. 74 Shanghuapo Road, Jiang’an District, Wuhan

Building Function: A Buddhist architecture for prayers to worship

Opening Hours: The Gude Temple opens from 7:00 to 17:00 Monday to Friday.

Admission Ticket Fare: The ticket is free, but the cost for worshiping should be consulted from the working personnel.

Brief Introduction to the Gude Temple

Gude Temple

Located at Huangpu Road in Hankou, the Gude Temple is the only monastery built after the imitation of the architectural style of Indian temples and Burmese Ananda Temple. The Gude Temple covers an area of about 30,000 square meters, with the building area of about 8,000 square meters. It has significant values of the Buddhist culture. The Gude Temple, together with the Guiyuan Temple, the Baotong Temple, and the Lianxi Temple, are known as the four major Buddhist temples in Wuhan.
 

The temple is a mixture of Eurasian religious architectural styles. With a history of more than 140 years, the temple absorbs the features of the Christian church, the Islamic mosque, and the god’s temple of Athens and travelers may be surprised by its unique beauty. The core of the temple is the Yuantong Treasure Hall (Yuan Tong Bao Dian), which adopts the structure of ancient Greek architecture, with a circular walkway between the inner and outer walls and many square columns. The round windows on the facade walls are in the style of the Christian church.
 

The Gude Temple is a rare one among many Buddhist temples. It is regarded as "a wonder of Buddhist resort" and "the first wonder of Buddhist temples". The Gude Temple is of high architectural, cultural, and historical value.

History of the Gude Temple

The Roof

Established in 1877 by monk Longxi, the temple was originally named Gude Maopeng. From 1914 to 1919, Gude Maopeng was expanded and renamed the Gude Temple. In the autumn of 1921, large-scale renovation and construction work were delivered—the Dahong Grand Hall and the other halls were repaired, and many Buddhas were enshrined. In 1931, Hankou experienced a flood and the Gude Temple was ruined. The renovation work continued when the floodwater receded. After 13 years, the renovation work was finally completed.
 

The Gude Temple was listed as the Municipality Protected Historic Site by Wuhan Municipal Government in 1959, and the Provincial Protected Historic Site by Hubei Province in 1993. It was listed as an important heritage site under state protection in 2013.

Must-visit Attraction at the Gude Temple

Yuantong Treasure Hall

Yuantong Treasure Hall

The Yuantong Treasure Hall represents the major building of the Gude Temple. It was built after the imitation of the architectural style of Burmese Ananda Temple, becoming one of two Buddhist architectures worldwide that boast such architectural styles. With an area of 1,000 square meters and 16 meters in height, the Yuantong Treasure Hall is the largest Buddhist hall in Wuhan and can accommodate hundreds of people. Although most of the temples enshrine the Arhats, the Yuantong Treasure Hall enshrine 25 Yuantong Bodhisattvas, as the rank of Yuantong Bodhisattva in Buddhism is higher than that of Arhats. This special feature of the Gude Temple distinguishes it from other temples.

Story of the Gude Temple

On October 19, 1954, Prime Minister Zhou Enlai accompanied Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and his daughter Indira Gandhi to visit the Gude Temple. Jawaharlal Nehru marveled that Wuhan had such a temple with the Indian Panava-style.

Suggested Travel Route

Enter from the front gate of Gude Temple → Tianwang Hall → Yuantong Hall → Exit from the Front Gate.

How to Get to the Gude Temple

By Bus

Take bus 30, 346, and get off at Gongnongbing Road Gude Temple Station.
 

By Subway

Take Metro Line 3 and get off at Zhaojiatiao Station and exit B.
 

By Taxi

Chinese: 请带我去古德寺。English: Please take me to the Gude Temple.

Chinese: 请带我去古德寺的西门。English: Please take me to the west gate of the Gude Temple.

Chinese: 请带我去古德寺的西南门。English: Please take me to the southwest gate of the Gude Temple.

If you go to the Gude Temple from Wuhan Tianhe International Airport, it takes about 30 minutes (60 yuan).

If you go to the Gude Temple from Hankou Railway Station, it takes about 15 minutes (20 yuan).

If you go to the Gude Temple from Wuchang Railway Station, it takes about 25 minutes (30 yuan).

If you go to the Gude Temple from Wuhan Railway Station, it takes about 30 minutes (40 yuan).

If you go to the Gude Temple from Wuhan East Railway Station, it takes about 40 minutes (50 yuan).

The Main Entrance

authorName23242: Jingwen Wu

Date: 01/12/2020

Email: info@chinatourstar.com

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