Yunyan Temple (Suzhou) Explained

The Yunyan Temple (; Pinyin: Yúnyán Sì) or Tiger Hill Temple was a historical temple located on Tiger Hill in Suzhou, in Jiangsu province, China.

History

The temple was founded in 327.[1] It was extremely important during the Song Dynasty, when it was the center of many religious events, festivals, and worshiping.

It suffered damage in successive wars throughout history, and was last rebuilt in 1871. Much of the temple was finally destroyed during the Second Sino-Japanese War, which ended in 1945.

The grounds of the temple covered most of what is today Tiger Hill park; some elements still survive there These include the formal entrance to the temple (and today, the formal entrance to the park grounds), its famous, "leaning" pagoda (the Tiger Hill Pagoda), and several other buildings and smaller shrines scattered throughout the park.

Notes and References

  1. Book: Tang . Beibei . Cheung . Paul . Suzhou in Transition . 11 November 2020 . Routledge . 978-1-000-21765-0 . 90 . en.