| Building Name: | Putuo Zongcheng Temple |
| Religious Affiliation: | Buddhist |
| Region: | China |
| Province: | Hebei |
| Municipality: | Chengde |
| Functional Status: | Preserved |
| Heritage Designation: | 1994 |
| Architecture Style: | Tibetan and Chinese |
| Year Completed: | 1771 |
The Putuo Zongcheng Temple of Chengde, Hebei province, China is a Qing dynasty era Buddhist temple complex built between 1767 and 1771,[1] during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor (1735–1796). It is located near the Chengde Mountain Resort, which is south of the Putuo Zongcheng. Along with the equally famed Puning Temple, it is one of the Eight Outer Temples of Chengde. The temple was modeled after the Potala Palace of Tibet, the residence of the Dalai Lama built a century earlier.[1] [2] Since it was modeled after the Potala palace, the temple represents a fusion of Chinese and Tibetan architectural styles. The temple complex covers a surface area of some 220000m2, making it one of the largest in China. Many of its halls and pavilions are adorned with copper and gold tiled roofs, adding to the splendor of the site.
The Putuo Zongcheng Temple is part of the "Eight Outer Temples" located in Chengde, which are part of the World Heritage List along with the Chengde Mountain Resort. These temples were administered by the Lifan Yuan, an administrative department for the affairs of ethnic minorities such as the Mongolians and Tibetans, hence the different combinations of architectural style which could be seen throughout these Eight Outer Temples in Chengde.
The Putuo Zongcheng Temple was originally dedicated to the Qianlong Emperor to celebrate his birthday, as well as provide Hebei with a temple of equal size and splendor as the Potala Palace in Lhasa. The Putuo Zongcheng temple served more functions than just Buddhist ceremonies and festivals; it was also the location that the emperor would gather meetings of different ethnic envoys from within the empire. The location served as a peaceful getaway in contrast to the bustling life of the capital Beijing, as well as complimented the nearby hunting grounds that the emperor would enjoy with his guests.
As of 1994, the Chengde Mountain Resort and Chengde's Eight Outer Temples (including the Putuo Zongcheng Temple) were established as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Today, the temple remains a site of tourism and local festivities.
Swedish explorer Sven Hedin, Gösta Montell, Georg Söderbom and chinese architect Liang Weihua (W. H. Liang) came to Putuo Zongcheng in June 1930.[3] This was part of the Sino-Swedish expedition and the mission was to procure a Lamaistic temple to the World Exhibition in Chicago in 1933, Century of Progress.[4] An exact model in full scale 1:1 was manufactured at Liang’s workshops in Beijing. Two smaller models in scale 1:10 were also made. The full scale model was set up in Chicago. One of the smaller models was also sent to Chicago to help set up the full scale temple. The other small model was taken to the Museum of Ethnography in Stockholm.[5]