Huating Si

When Huating Si (Huating Temple), situated 15 kilometers southwest of Kunming, was established remains dubious to this day. It is known, however, that the first reconstruction of it dates back to 1320 (7th year of the Yanyou reign, Yuan Dynasty) and at the time it was known as the Yuanjue Temple. The temple was rebuilt and renamed the “Greater Yuantong Temple” during the Jingtai reign (1450-1456) of the Ming Dynasty, only to succumb to a major fire towards the end of that dynasty. During the Qing Dynasty, it was rebuilt in 1687 (26th year of the Kangxi reign), partially destroyed in 1857 (7th year of the Xianfeng reign), and restored again in 1883 (9th year of the Guangxu reign). In 1922, the temple received a major facelift when its old halls were refurbished and more halls were built, and for a time it was called the “Yunxi Monastery for the Stabilization of the Country.”

Huating Temple is tucked away in an ocean of bamboo groves in Kunming’s Western Hill Scenic Resort. Its glazed-tile rooftops gleam in the rich verdure of ancient-looking cypresses and pines, and all the buildings are scattered about in an orderly way. Huating Mountain rises in the background and the vast Dianchi Lake extends an arm right beyond the front gate. The vivid and individually different images of the 500 Arhats in the Huating Temple never fail to draw appreciative comments from its visitors.