Putuo Zongcheng Temple Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Putuo Zongcheng Temple
The Putuo Zongcheng Temple of Chengde, built in the 18th century during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor.
Religion
Affiliation	Buddhist
Province	Hebei
Region	China
Status	Preserved
Location
Municipality	Chengde
Architecture
Architectural style	Tibetan and Chinese
Completed	1771

Putuo Zongcheng Temple

Chinese name

Simplified Chinese

普陀宗乘之庙

Traditional Chinese

普陀宗乘之廟

Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin	Pǔtuó Zōngchéng zhī miào
Wade–Giles	P'u-t'ou Tsung-ch'eng chih miao

Alternative Chinese name

Chinese

小布达拉宫

Literal meaning

Little Potala Palace

Transcriptions

Tibetan name

Tibetan

གྲུ་འཛིན་་་བསྟན་པའི་རྩ་བའི་ལྷ་ཁང༌།

Transcriptions
Wylie	Chunzin Dainbaiza Pailhakang

View inside the Cihangpudu building, the temple's main hall. It has Chinese pavilions and a golden rooftop.

The Putuo Zongcheng Temple (Chinese: 普陀宗乘之庙; pinyin: Pǔtuó Zōngchéng zhī miào) is a large Buddhist temple complex. It is located in Chengde, Hebei province, China. This amazing temple was built a long time ago, between 1767 and 1771. This was during the time of the Qianlong Emperor, a famous ruler of the Qing dynasty.

The temple is very close to the Chengde Mountain Resort. It is one of the "Eight Outer Temples" in Chengde. The Putuo Zongcheng Temple was designed to look like the Potala Palace in Tibet. The Potala Palace was the home of the Dalai Lama. Because of this, the temple mixes both Chinese and Tibetan building styles. It is one of the biggest temples in China, covering a huge area. Many of its buildings have shiny copper and gold roofs. This makes the temple look even more grand and special.

A Look Back in Time
A Temple Across the World
Exploring the Temple
See also

A Look Back in Time

The Putuo Zongcheng Temple is part of the "Eight Outer Temples" in Chengde. These temples, along with the Chengde Mountain Resort, are important UNESCO World Heritage Sites. This means they are protected for everyone to enjoy.

These temples were managed by a special government department. This department handled matters for groups like the Mongolians and Tibetans. That is why you can see different building styles in these temples.

The Putuo Zongcheng Temple was built for a special reason. It was to celebrate the Qianlong Emperor's birthday. It was also meant to be as grand as the Potala Palace in Lhasa. The temple was used for more than just Buddhist events. The emperor also held meetings there with leaders from different parts of his empire. It was a peaceful place to escape the busy capital city of Beijing. The emperor also enjoyed hunting nearby with his guests.

In 1994, the Chengde Mountain Resort and its Eight Outer Temples became UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Today, the temple is still a popular place for tourists. Local festivals are also held there.

A Temple Across the World

On the left is the main hall, Wanfaguiyi (2018 photo). In the middle is a full-size replica from Chicago in 1933. On the right is a smaller replica at the Museum of Ethnography, Sweden.

In June 1930, a group of explorers visited the Putuo Zongcheng Temple. This group included Swedish explorer Sven Hedin and Chinese architect Liang Weihua. They were part of a special expedition. Their goal was to get a Lamaistic temple for the 1933 World Exhibition in Chicago.

They made an exact, full-size copy of the temple's main hall. This copy was built in Beijing. Two smaller models were also made. The full-size copy was set up in Chicago for the exhibition. One of the smaller models also went to Chicago to help build the big one. The other small model was taken to the Museum of Ethnography in Stockholm, Sweden.