Xuzhou Baolian Temple, home to the largest main hall of Buddha in the country

Baolian Temple is located at the foot of Pantao Mountain in the east of Xuzhou City, Jiangsu Province. It was first built during the Yongchu period of Liu Song in the Southern and Northern Dynasties (Yongxing period of the Northern Wei Dynasty), and is the first temple in China with an Indian style. Over the past thousand years, it has experienced many changes, several times flourishing and declining. It was first called Longhua Temple, then Hongfeng Temple, Honglian Temple, and was named Baolian Temple during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty. It was abandoned on the eve of liberation, and reconstruction began in 2009. Baolian Temple has 'eight halls, two towers and one courtyard', covering an area of 16,400 square meters. The Seven Buddha Hall is the largest main hall of Buddha in the country, with a building area of 2,377 square meters; the Tongtian Tower is 59.88 meters high, the highest Buddhist tower in the country, enshrining a statue of Maitreya Buddha with a crown height of 39.88 meters, which is the largest indoor forged copper Buddha statue in the country.