China - Fujian - Quanzhou

This is "Qing Yuan Shan" where "Kai Yuan Si" is located. This is a very old temple of 1300 years, 100 years older than "Nan Pu Tuo Si" located in Xiamen.

It has a very long story. There was a rich landlord, who has a "sang1 shu4" plantation on this plot of land. He had a dream which Buddha told him that he has to donate this piece of land to build a temple when all the sang1 shu4 bloom with white lotus. One day, a monk approached him and requested this landlord to donate the land for the building site of a temple. He was reluctant as it was really a big piece of land and cost a fortune. But he remembered the dream. Then he asked the monk, how big the land must be? The monk replied, just the size of his jia1 sha1. (robe) The landlord thought the robe is so small, not a big problem after all. The monk threw the robe into the air. To the landlords astonishment, it expanded till the size of the plantation and descended, covering the whole plot of land. Concurrently, all the sang1 shu4 bloomed with white lotus. The landlord obliged, as he was a devout buddhist too.

There is a very unique sang1 shu4 in the temple, which has 3 trunks. It is believed to be left behind since the landlords time. It was said that the robe has a hole for the head, thus the land of this tree is not covered, thus it was not chopped down. If this is true, the tree would be 1300+ years old. Wow!

Hopefully I did not distort the story as it was based on my memory only on what the tour guide said. :)

There are 2 pagodas in the temple made purely from rocks and stones. It is so special as normally pagodas are made from wood, or with a mixture of materials. Unfortunately, they are too old and may not have sufficient structural strength to take human load. Hence, their entrances are locked up. The architecture is impressive.