Qixia Temple is a Buddhist temple located on Qixia Hill in the suburban Qixia District

Qixia District

Qixia District , Jiangsu, China a city district of the City of Nanjing directly northeast across the Yangtze River from Nanjing.It has an area of 80 km2 and the population of 400,000.-Natural and historical sights:...

 of Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, People's Republic of China, 22 kilometres (13.7 mi) northeast of downtown Nanjing. It is one of Nanjing's most important Buddhist temples.

Built in AD 489, the 7th year of the Yongming (永明) era

Chinese era name

A Chinese era name is the regnal year, reign period, or regnal title used when traditionally numbering years in an emperor's reign and naming certain Chinese rulers . Some emperors have several era names, one after another, where each beginning of a new era resets the numbering of the year back...

 during the South Qi Dynasty, the temple is known for its large collection of Chinese Buddhist visual art and sculptural art in the grounds. These consist of pagodas, murals and artwork that date back to the 10th century.

Near the temple site and situated on the slopes of Qixia Hill, there lie the "Thousand Buddha Caves", a grottoe containing many Buddhist sculptural works of art.

Gallery