From Hanshan Temple to Maple Bridge at Night: The thousand-year influence of a poem.

[Hanshan Temple] is located at the west end of Fengqiao Road outside Changmen in the west of Suzhou City. The temple faces east and west, and the gate faces the ancient canal. It was originally part of Fengqiao Town. It was first built during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Southern Dynasty Liang (502-519), when Buddhism was prevalent, and was originally named Miaoli Puming Pagoda Courtyard. During the Tang Zhen Guan period (627-649), the Tiantai poet monk Hanshan (self-proclaimed Hanshanzi) from Zhejiang once lived here. The famous Tang Dynasty monk Xiqian Zen master created a Jialan here, so it was named "Hanshan Temple". The architectural layout of Hanshan Temple does not have a strict central axis. The temple's buildings include the Daxiong Hall, the Sutra Building, the Bell Tower, the Stele Gallery, the Fengjiang Building, and the Frost Bell Pavilion. There are courtyards everywhere in the temple, which are staggered and connected. The Daxiong Hall enshrines the golden Buddha statue of Shiyi Muni Buddha, and the eighteen cast iron gilt Arhat statues cast during the Chenghua period of the Ming Dynasty are enshrined on both sides of the wall. The stone carvings of Hanshan and Shide in the Tang Dynasty are enshrined behind the Buddha statue. The bell tower is located on the south side of the Sutra Building. It is a hexagonal double-eave pavilion with a two-ton ancient bell. On New Year's Eve every year, people gather at Hanshan Temple to listen to the 108 bells from the bell tower to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new. The poetry stele of Hanshan Temple is also a major feature. The most famous is Zhang Ji's "Maple Bridge Night Mooring" poetry stele, written by the famous scholar Yu Yue in the late Qing Dynasty. In addition, Hanshan Temple also has legends about the "Harmony and Two Immortals" Hanshan and Shide. Their stories and images are widely circulated among the people, and Hanshan Temple has also become a symbol of harmony and auspiciousness. In addition, Hanshan Temple also has a newly built Puming Pagoda, which is a four-square five-story pavilion-style building. The pagoda courtyard is both water and land, with a regular layout, inheriting the layout of the Tang Dynasty site. Suzhou is suitable for tourism in all seasons, especially from April to October. During this period, you can enjoy the natural scenery of peach blossoms and willows, and taste seasonal specialties such as fresh peaches, Biluochun, and sugar lotus. Hanshan Temple