Mange Temple (; ) is a

Buddhist temple A Buddhist temple or Buddhist monastery is the place of worship for Buddhism, Buddhists, the followers of Buddhism. They include the structures called vihara, chaitya, stupa, wat, khurul and pagoda in different regions and languages. Temples in B ...

located in

Jinghong Jinghong (; ; , , ; , ; , ; also formerly romanised as ''Chiang Hung'', ''Chengrung'', ''Cheng Hung'', Jeng Hung, ''Jinghung'', ''Keng Hung'', ''Kiang Hung'' and ''Muangjinghung'') is a city in and the seat of Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefec ...

Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture Xishuangbanna, sometimes shortened to Banna, is one of the eight autonomous prefectures of Yunnan Province. The autonomous prefecture for Dai people is in the extreme south of Yunnan province, China, bordering both Myanmar and Laos. Xishuangbanna ...

Yunnan Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. Covering an area of , the temple is bordered by

Lancang River The Mekong or Mekong River ( , ) is a transboundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's twelfth-longest river and the third-longest in Asia with an estimated length of and a drainage area of , discharging of wat ...

in the north. Built in 1477, the temple is one of the oldest temples in

History

According to historic records, the temple was first built in 1477, in the 13th year of Chenghua period (1465–1487) in the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

(1368–1644), with a history of more than 500 years.

Architecture

The temple consists of more than 7 buildings. The complex includes the following halls: Main Hall, Scripture Hall, Monk's Houses, Drum tower, Ordination Hall, corridors and door kiosks.

Main Hall

The main hall also known as "Buddha Hall", is an long and wide building with double eaves, three slopes and no columns (). The spectacular Dai style roof is high and steep in slopes because it is surrounded by 16 red painted ''

ailanthus ''Ailanthus'' (; derived from ''ailanto,'' an Ambonese Malay, Ambonese word probably meaning "tree of the gods" or "tree of heaven") is a genus of trees belonging to the family Simaroubaceae, in the order Sapindales (formerly Rutales or Geranial ...

'' wood columns with lacquered flower patterns. They are decorated with dedicate and beautiful sparrow braces and hanging fascia. The ceiling is drawn with pretty patterns with phenomenal Dai style characteristic. On the walls are paintings with stories of Sakyamuni's becoming Buddha, which are bright in color, fluent in lines and with the style of Dai

fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

s. They are covered with colorful frescos depicting the vivid and lively images of

Chinese dragon The Chinese dragon or loong is a legendary creature in Chinese mythology, Chinese folklore, and Chinese culture generally. Chinese dragons have many animal-like forms, such as Bixi (mythology), turtles and Chiwen, fish, but are most commonly ...

s, white

elephant Elephants are the largest living land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant ('' Loxodonta africana''), the African forest elephant (''L. cyclotis''), and the Asian elephant ('' Elephas maximus ...

s, phoenixes,

peacock Peafowl is a common name for two bird species of the genus '' Pavo'' and one species of the closely related genus '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae (the pheasants and their allies). Male peafowl are referred t ...

s and female celestials. In the center of the main hall enshrines a high gilded statue of

Sakyamuni Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...

. The various statues of Buddha and animals are placed in front of the statue of Sakyamuni. Before the statue of Sakyamuni, long flags which are known as ''Dong'' in

Dai language Dai language may refer to: Tai languages *The Tai languages in general *Dai Zhuang language, Dàizhuàngyǔ, 岱壮语, spoken primarily in Wenshan Prefecture, Yunnan, China * Tai Dam language, Dǎinǎyǔ, 傣哪语; Dǎidānyǔ, 傣担语, spoken ...

are hung from the beams, in length, they have colorful patterns and flying silver and gold foil streamers hanging down from the beams.

Ordination Hall

The Ordination Hall is an long and wide building with double eaves, three slopes and no columns. A high sumeru throne is placed in the middle of the hall. A high statue of Sakyamuni is sitting on the sumeru throne.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mange Temple Buildings and structures in Jinghong Buddhist temples in Yunnan Tourist attractions in Jinghong 1470s establishments in Asia 15th-century Buddhist temples Buildings and structures completed in 1477 Religious buildings and structures completed in the 1470s 15th-century establishments in China