Zhaojue Temple, adjacent to the Chengdu Zoo, is a thriving Buddhist temple founded during the Tang Dynasty’s Zhen Guan era, initially named ‘Jianyuan Temple’. It was later bestowed the name ‘Zhaojue’ by Emperor Xuanzong of Tang and is known as the ‘First Zen Forest’ in Western Sichuan. Within its premises, there is a modern wooden statue of ‘Thousand-Armed Guanyin’, with its arms neatly raised like dense shrubs reaching into a mysterious space, and the faces of Guanyin are layered and hidden within.
The main structures in the temple include: the Mountain Gate, Octagonal Pavilion, Heavenly Kings Hall, Xian Jue Hall, Yuan Jue Hall, Imperial Script Building, Guanyin Pavilion, Nirvana Hall, Scripture Repository, and the Cemetery of Zen Master Yuanwu, making it one of the most grand and spectacular monasteries in the Southwest region.
