Qiongzhu Temple, also called Bamboo Temple, located in Yu'an Mountains in the western suburb of Kunming, 7 km away from the center of the city, is the first temple that introduces Chinese zen Buddhism to Yunnan. Qiongzhu Temple was built in Tang and Song Dynasty. It rebuilt twice during the reign of Emperor Qianglong and Guangxu in Qing Dynasty. Qiongzhu Temple is known for the painted clay sculptures of the 500 Buddhist arhats. The sculptures which are known as the "Sculptured pearls in the oriental treasure-house were created during reign of the Qing Emperor Guangxu (1875–1909), when the temple was undergoing major repairs. Li Guangxiu, a folk clay artist from Sichuan Province, took his students to Kunming where they spent seven years (1883–1890) to create the sculptures.

There is a legend about the causes of building the temple. In 638 AD (Tang Dynasty), two local brothers were hunting animals in Western Mountain and found a rhinoceros. They chased the animal into the Mountain of Yu’an. But the rhinoceros was disappearing, and then surprisingly found monks on the top of mountain. When they climbed to the top, the monk suddenly turned into a bamboo, which the brothers can’t pull out of the ground. After few days they came to the place and terribly found a forest of bamboo. The brothers were so shocked that they believed this was a sign from Buddha. So they built a temple here to memorize the incident. And later the temple became strong and attracted Buddhism followers around the region. That is the legend of the Qiongzhu Temple, and the name came directly from the story.

Not only the 500 Buddhist arhats attract many tourists to the temple, but also other places in the Qiongzhu Temple own themselves charming to attract tourists. Four Guardian Kings in the entrance hall; the three large statues of Buddha in the main temple palace and two majestic 450-year-old cypress trees that stand in the forecourt. As the most important sightseeing point in Kunming, you cannot miss the beauty of the Qiongzhu Temple.

How to get

Take a taxi or Public Bus No. C61, C62, C63