Suzhou >> Han Shan Temple

Hanshan Temple situated near Fengqiao (Maple) Bridge to the west of Suzhou City. It is said that Han Shan and She De, monks of the Tang Dynasty, used to live here: hence the name Hanshan Temple. The present temple was rebuilt after the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. The poet of the Tang Dynasty Zhang Ji's famous poem "Night Anchoring beside Maple Bridge" refers to this place. In the middle of the temple is the main hall of Buddha. On either side of the hall there is a verandah. The verandah on the right side leads to the bell tower.

The poem that made the temple famous in China and overseas reads as "The moon descends, and crows cry in the frost-filled sky. I gaze at the riverside maples and fisherman's light in melancholy sleeplessness. Then, outside the town of Suzhou, the night bell of Han Shan Temple, reaches as far as my boat."