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Wenshu Monastery is located in Wenshufang, which is located next to Renmin Middle Road in downtown Chengdu. It is one of the restored traditional streets of Chengdu. The important Buddhist temple Wenshu Monastery is located here. Wenshufang Antique Market is one of the three antique markets in Chengdu. There are also local snack restaurants and different shops.

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What to Expect at Wenshu Monastery

1.    Buddhist Temple - Wenshu Yuan

Located in the northwest corner of Chengdu, Sichuan Province, it is a famous Buddhist temple in Chengdu. Its predecessor was the Miaoyuan Tower in the Tang Dynasty, which was renamed "Xinxiang Temple" in Song Dynasty. Destroyed by the military disaster. It is said that in the Qing Dynasty, some people saw the red light appear in the night, and the government sent people to check. There was a statue of Manjushri in the red light. Emperor Kangxi imperially wrote the word "Empty Forest", and bestowed the title of "Empty Forest". Emperor Kangxi's ink remains in the courtyard.

Wenshuyuan faces north and south, with a construction area of ​​11,600 square meters. The Temple of Heavenly Kings, the Palace of the Three Grand Scholars, the Hall of the Great Heroes, the Shuotang Hall, and the Tibetan Classical House are solemn and solemn. Two opposing three-eave bell-drum towers, more than 4,500 kilograms of bronze-cast bells hung in the bell tower. The statue of Guanyin is made of bronze and can be called a fine sculpture. There is also a Burmese Jade Buddha listed as "One of the Eight Views in the Empty Forest". In addition, there are more than 300 Buddha statues in the courtyard, whether it is stone carving, copper-iron casting, or wood carving clay sculptures, all of which have cultural and artistic value. Wenshu Monastery also holds many precious cultural relics, Buddhist scriptures, and tens of thousands of documents.

Wenshuyuan has a collection of cultural relics and many treasures. More than 300 Buddha statues are enshrined in the temple, including iron and steel casting, yarn removal, wood carving, stone carvings and clay sculptures. In terms of age, there are unearthed stone carvings of the Liang Dynasty, iron casting ring gods during the Tang and Song dynasties, and bronze statues of the Qing Dynasty, as well as Burmese jade Buddhas. These statues have high cultural and artistic values. Ancient sculpture, casting and other crafts provide valuable information. The temple also houses treasures of calligraphy and painting since the Ming and Qing dynasties. The most famous are the "Kunglin" inks of Emperor Kangxi's Manjushri Monastery in 1702, and the "Sea Moon" banner by calligrapher Mi Fu from the Song Dynasty. In addition, there are Buddhist relics such as the Indian Bayi Scriptures, the skull of Xuanzang Master in the Tang Dynasty, the gold scriptures of the Tang Dynasty in Japan, the thousand Buddhist scriptures, the embroidered avalokitesvara, the picking veil and the bloody tongue.

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2.    Traditional Block

It only takes 2-3 hours to walk around, but this place is wonderful. Wenshufang is called the central leisure and tourist area of ​​Chengdu, it is not as famous as Taikoo Li on Chunxi Road or Jinli Street, but because of this, Wenshufang is more pleasant as it doesn't have the crowds of other places. It is here that one really feels the real life of Chengdu. The first is that the building is unique, with wooden materials especially in the monastery, and it has an antique feel. The second is that there are many tea houses here. Many Chengdu residents will sit here and have a cup of tea and chat. It is very pleasant.
Local government tried to build this place into commercial/tourist areas such as Jinli and Kuanzhai Alley, but there are fewer people than those two places, but because of this, the charges in the tea house are not as expensive, and you can really drink a cup of tea and enjoy yourself.
During Chinese New Year, there is a big celebration of what we call Temple Fair, a gathering of people to pray and to go shopping.

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3.    Local Restaurants
The local food restaurants include Dongzikou Zhang's Jelly Rice is an authentic food shop. The Sweet and Spicy Noodles are very famous here.  There are a lot of fortune-tellers in Wenshufang. They are usually older people. Often the try to pull you and try to tell your fortunes. There are also some fake monks here.  

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4.    Teahouses
Tea houses in Wenshu Monastery has been a less-known authentic place to experience local Chengdu Life. The tea house is inside the monastery at its exit. Note by weekends there are lots of people usually.

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How to Get to Wenshua Monastery

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Wenshu Monastery is located at No. 66 Wenshu Yuan Street, Qingyang District, Chengdu.
Address in Chinese is 青羊区文书院街66号。

1. By Bus

Bus route No16, No.37, No.52, No. 5, No. 7 and No.55 can get you to Wenshu Monastery.

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2. By Subway

Subway Line 1 gets to Wenshu Monastery Stop (地铁文殊院站), from where it is 500m of walking to Wenshu Monastery towards northeast.

Wenshu Monastery is located in the central part of Chengdu, it is easy to even walk there. or bike there.