Tucked into the mountains of Huairou near the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall, Red Snail temple was founded in the year 338. Where does its name originate and is it worth a visit?
Read on to find out!
The temple was founded by the monk Fotucheng (aka Fotudeng), who was originally from Kucha in what is now Xinjiang Province. According to legend, he came to China searching for the ‘home’ of Buddhism which he had seen in a dream. After many years searching, all the while spreading Buddhism, he became the advisor of the warlord Shi Le, and accompanied him wherever he went.
On one of the warlord’s campaigns, Fotucheng came across a mountain that looked exactly like the one he had seen in his dream decades before. The upper part looked like a huge golden bird of prey, and the lower part looked like the Buddha’s hand in the Bhumisparsha mudra, symbolising the Buddha’s enlightenment as he sat under the Bodhi tree. The temple he established on this mountain was called 大明寺, the temple of Great Brightness.
The temple was closely associated with the imperial family. The emperors of the Tang Dynasty gave funds for the temple to be expanded, hoping in that way to receive blessings for their reign. In the Qing dynasty many emperors visited the temple to enjoy the extensive bamboo forest there, part of which remains today.
In the Ming dynasty the temple’s name was changed to 护国资福禅寺 (Blessed Chan Temple of Protecting State Assets). So why is the temple now known as 红螺寺, Red Snail Temple? The legend goes that two daughters of the Jade Emperor, ruler of heaven, disguised themselves as snails and lived in and around the small pool inside the temple to protect the temple and the people living nearby. At night they gave off red lights. So although the temple had another official name, it became so common to call it Red Snail Temple that the name eventually stuck.
Disappointingly, Red Snail Temple’s main attraction, the red-cloaked bluestone statues of 500 Arhats (Buddhist saints) sitting silently in a forest, has been removed, for reasons unknown. A single large Maitreya remains. This means that the temple doesn’t really have a ‘main’ attraction – the temple area open to the public is small. We recommend you come here for a walk up to two peaks with spectacular views over Huairou, and treat the temple as an added attraction!
One route up/down the hillside is lined with over 30 white Guanyin statues. Guanyin is a Bodhisattva, commonly known in English as the Goddess of Mercy and in her incarnation with a thousand arms. Here you can see and pray to many of her different incarnations. The temple at the end of the path is to 送子观音 (Guanyin of Giving Children), where women often go to worship her when trying to conceive. Each peak takes about half an hour to climb.
Get to Red Snail Temple by taxi (around 100RMB from downtown) or bus 916 from Dongzhimen bus station, changing to bus H57 at 场家园 Changjiayuan. We recommend seeing Red Snail Temple in combination with a visit to Mutianyu; the temple is half an hour by car from the wall. Or, from the wall, take bus H23, H35, H3, H7 or H50 and change to bus H57 at 于家园 Yujiayuan.
Have you visited Red Snail Temple? What did you think of it? Let us know in the comments below. We always love hearing your thoughts and insights!
Photo Credits
– Cultural Keys
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