Jiufeng Zen Temple in Songjiang

The Jiufeng Temple, originally named Sizhou Pagoda Temple, is located on the north peak of Xiao Kunshan in Songjiang. The temple was built in the first year of the Qiantong era of the Southern Song Dynasty (1165) by the monk Shi Xingu. It was named Sizhou Pagoda Temple because of the Ciyu Pagoda built by a monk from the Western Regions named Sengqia (also known as 'Sizhou Monk'). In the fifth year of the Shunzhi era of the Qing Dynasty (1648), when Emperor Shunzhi toured the south, he requested that the main hall of the temple be changed from facing south to facing north. In the forty-fourth year of the Kangxi era (1705), when Emperor Kangxi toured the south, he wrote the plaque 'Kui Guang Zhu Ying' for the temple, and Sizhou Pagoda Temple became a famous temple in the south of the Yangtze River. During the Opium War, the temple was damaged by war, and in 1941 it was occupied by the invading Japanese army. By the 1950s, it had been almost completely leveled, with rampant deforestation, leaving only a ginkgo tree and a few Chinese parasol trees on the front hill slope. Since 1995, people have been burning incense outside the wall at the foot of Xiao Kunshan, and the number of people has been increasing day by day. In 1996, someone placed a Buddha statue in an empty room in the forest farm, and people entered to burn incense. In 1997, led by the Shanghai Buddhist Association, the town established a preparation group for the restoration of Jiufeng Temple. On September 25, 1999, the foundation-laying ceremony for the reconstruction of Jiufeng Temple was held. By the end of 2001, the first phase of the project was completed. The rebuilt Jiufeng Temple covers an area of 7.2 mu and has a construction area of 998 square meters. Inside the temple, there is a 500-year-old ancient ginkgo tree that is particularly precious. The tree is 25 meters tall, with a crown spread of 10 meters, and is over 500 years old. In 1986, it was listed as a first-class protected ancient and famous tree in Shanghai.