Puning Temple

Located near the Chengde Mountain Resort, and alongside the equally famed Putuozongcheng Temple, Puning Temple is one of the famous Eight Outer Temples in Chengde City, Hebei Province. It is also known as Big Buddha Temple because of the big Buddha in the temple, built in 1755 during the period of the Qianlong Emperor to show the Qing's respect to the ethnic minorities. 

Puning Temple was modeled after the Samye Monastery, the sacred Lamaist site in Tibet. The front temple was constructed in the Chinese style, although the temple complex follows both Chinese and Tibetan architectural style. The complex features temple halls, pavilions, drum towers and bell towers. 

In 1994, the Chengde Mountain Resort and Chengde's Eight Outer Temples (including the Puning Temple) were established as one of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Today, Puning Temple remains a site of tourist attraction and local festivities.

During the late Ming Dynasty, the Dzungar people of northwestern China were engaged in a civil war and with other nomadic groups in the region. During the Qing Dynasty under the reign of Qianlong, the army was dispatched to Yili to suppress their resistance against the Qing Dynasty. The army attacked Kulja and captured the ruling Dzungar Khan. After the conquest, Emperor Qianlong personally inscribed his writing on a tablet that is located in the stele pavilion of Puning Temple. The stele of 1755, called the Puning Sibei, commemorated the founding of the temple and the conquering of the Dzungars.

Under the orders of Qianlong the new Temple of Universal Peace was built, which was a symbol of the emperor's ambition to maintain peace among various ethnic minorities and a stable environment within the northwestern regions. Since the Dzungar were followers of Lamaism, the temple was built as an imitation of Samye Monastery, the sacred place of Lamaism in Tibet.
 

Location

Southeast of Summer Resort, Chengde

Travel Information

Opening Hours: 8:00AM - 5:00PM

Admission: Puning Temple Area - 80 Yuan (incl. Puning Temple and Puyou Temple)

Transportation 

1. Within Chengde, you can take bus No. 5 (which can be boarded either at Chengde Railway Station or at the Commuter Bus Hub Station) to the Mountain Resort of Chengde, then transfer to bus No. 6 to the Eight Outer Temples.

2. From Beijing, you can take the Beijing - Chengde regional bus, which departs from the center of Beijing every 10 minutes. Alternatively, from Beijing you can take train N211 to Chengde, which runs about 4 hours.

Travel Tips 

1. Try to avoid visiting Puning Temple during Golden Week and summer holidays.