Jing'an Temple: Gold Buddhist Halls Between Luxury Malls

Jing'an Temple (静安寺, Jìng'ān Sì) has existed in some form since the third century, moved to this site in 1216, was destroyed and turned into a plastics factory during the Cultural Revolution, and was rebuilt in stages from the 1980s onward. The current complex — completed in 2010 with Burmese teak columns and a great deal of gold leaf — is therefore new, which some travelers hold against it.

The setting is the point. Step out of the metro and you are surrounded by Réel Mall, Kerry Centre and a Bulgari hotel; step through the gate and there is a copper-roofed hall, a 63-tonne silver Buddha, and elderly women prostrating on stone flags. The contrast is Shanghai in miniature, more so than any skyline photograph.

Inside, the Mahavira Hall holds the largest sitting jade Buddha in China at 3.8 metres, and the Hall of the Heavenly Kings has a 15-metre silver Sakyamuni. The seven-storey pagoda in the centre courtyard is closed to visitors but photographs beautifully against the office towers behind it.

At ¥50 ($7) it is on the expensive side for its size — you can see everything in 45 minutes. But it is a functioning temple with genuine worshippers rather than a museum, and it slots neatly into an afternoon with the Jing'an Sculpture Park five minutes north. Address: 1686 Nanjing West Road (南京西路1686号).