Hanshan Temple, situated in the western suburbs of Suzhou, has a history spanning over 1400 years and is renowned worldwide for the famous couplet from the Tang Dynasty poet Zhang Ji’s poem ‘Night Mooring by Maple Bridge’: ‘Outside the city of Gusu, the Hanshan Temple; at midnight, the bell reaches the guest boat.’ As a famous place for prayers and blessings, the temple sees a continuous stream of believers who come to ring the bell and offer incense for peace and safety. The temple complex mainly consists of the Mahavira Hall, Bell Tower, Stele Corridor, and Sutra Repository. The Mahavira Hall features a towering Sumeru throne made of white marble, on which the golden statue of Buddha Shakyamuni is enshrined, flanked by eighteen exquisite iron-plated golden Arhat statues cast during the Chenghua period of the Ming Dynasty, relocated from the Buddhist holy land of Wutai Mountain. In the Stele Corridor, one can find fragments of inscriptions written by Wen Zhengming and Tang Yin, two of the ‘Four Great Masters of the South of the Yangtze’, as well as poetic steles by famous figures such as Yue Fei and Kang Youwei. The poetic stele ‘Night Mooring by Maple Bridge’ written by the late Qing scholar Yu Yue is a classic within Hanshan Temple. The Bell Tower, the source of the ‘midnight bell’, symbolizes the temple with its loud and melodious chimes. Every year on December 31st, Hanshan Temple holds a New Year’s Eve bell-ringing ceremony, with 108 strikes of the bell symbolizing the dissipation of troubles for the coming year. Although the current bell is not the one from the Tang poem but a late Qing relic, it is a rare giant bell that requires three people to embrace it. Opening hours: January 1st to August 31st, 07:30-18:00; September 1st to December 31st, 07:30-17:30. Preferential policies include free admission for children under 6 years old or with a height of 1.4 meters or less with valid identification, half-price tickets for minors aged between 6 and 18 with valid identification, free admission for seniors aged 65 and above with valid identification, half-price tickets for seniors aged between 60 and 65 with valid identification, half-price tickets for full-time university undergraduates and below with valid identification, free admission for active military personnel and retired military officers of the People’s Republic of China with valid identification, free admission for the disabled and one accompanying person for severely disabled individuals with valid identification, free admission for religious personnel associated with religious activity sites who belong to the same religion as the site and have undergone initiation rites with valid documents, and free admission for fire and rescue personnel with valid identification. Medical staff are admitted free of charge only on the seventh day following China’s Physician’s Day on August 19th and International Nurses’ Day on May 12th, with their relevant documents (ID card + work certificate). Service facilities include a parking lot: [Hanshan Temple Parking Lot], reference price: ¥10 per time; address: surrounding Hanshan Temple; capacity: 70 spaces. Stroller rental: reference price: free; address: visitor center. Restrooms: There is a restroom inside Hanshan Temple, with a prominent sign at the east gate of the scenic area.
