Top Five Places to be Zen in Shanghai – A Guide to the Buddhist Temples
What's New — By Lauren Johnson on July 13, 2010 at 6:00 amFinding a zen feeling in the middle of a city is a hard thing to do. Not so with Shanghai, which has a long history of Buddhism that is has proudly maintained, despite it’s recent growth as a financial and fashion capital. So, if you are a visitor to the amazing city of Shanghai and feel like getting your zen on here is a brief guide to finding the best places for finding peace.
For a great way to start a zen day, head to the Bund for some morning Tai Chi. If you want to get your mind in the right place first thing in the morning, there really is no better way. The folks who do tai chi daily on the Bund are more than welcoming. Although they won’t take time out of their daily routine to show you the moves, you can quite easily follow along as you soak in the morning breeze and watch the city slowly spring to life.
After your morning tai chi workout head to the Jade Buddha Temple on Nanjing West Road. This temple has been an active site of Buddhism for several generations. Some tourists don’t enjoy the temple because of its setting amid the city. A mall sits next door, and the entire outside of the temple itself is comprised of shopping stalls and, on the back of the temple, one of Shanghai’s few Burger Kings. This may not seem particularly zen, but looks can be deceiving. It is what is inside that matters! Light your incense, pray your prayers and even tour from room to room watching the monks chant or go about their daily chores.
Follow up your temple tour by heading to Yu Gardens. This ancient heart of the city held government buildings, the market square and the hub for social entertainment and shopping. You’ll find, hidden among the shops, another temple. This one is even older, and is a pilgrimage site for many practicing Buddhists. Likewise, you’ll find a beautiful garden in the center of Yu Gardens that, for a small fee, is a relaxing place for an afternoon tea or even a luxurious stroll down a floating walkway across the lake. In the middle of one of the world’s more populous cities, this is simply divine.
Longhua Temple on Longhua Road has improved in popularity in recent years, and the bell ringing ceremony there is especially popular with tourists. It is easy to find and the nearby martyr’s cemetery is also worth a visit. To really round of your zen tour of the city, this is a great and relaxing place to walk through nature and enjoy the beauty of Buddhism.
7 Comments
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Its an alright website, but I googled “zen Buddhist temples Shanghai”. I am looking for the denomination of Zen (Cha’an in Chinese I guess. Tried Ch’an too) in Shanghai and I am starting to wonder if it exists. I am (one of the few?) Americans who practice (Zen/Cha’an) Buddhism. Perhaps it shouldn’t be, but it can be somewhat of a pet peeve when people use “zen” in that way. (It may not be a very Zen thing to say… that this article says its not a very Zen place to to get a Zen moment…) It’s silly to use words like Catholic in that way! Anyway whats a “Zen moment” when you don’t even know what Zen is? It’s a calm denomnation of Buddhism, yes, but it IS a type of Buddhism.
Well anyway, perhaps when I move to Shanghai I will find something…
So..have a Zen moment…
…or a Catholic moment. Whichever floats your boat.
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This pst was good.
You do not need a temple or any particular physical place to feel or be Zen.
If indeed you want to find the Jade Buddha Temple of Shanghai, this article reports an incorrect location for it. The Jade Buddha Temple is currently located at 170 Anyuan Road in the Putuo District.
Perhaps the author meant the “Jing An Si” which is on Nanjing Xi Lu and easily accessible by metro.
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