Ganlu Temple, Buddhist temple in Jingkou District, China.
Ganlu Temple is a Buddhist temple on the summit of Mount Beigu in Jingkou District, Zhenjiang. Its Iron Pagoda stands northeast of the Heavenly King Hall: four of its original seven storeys remain, with the base and lower two tiers from the Song dynasty and the upper two from the Ming. The temple is linked to the story of Liu Bei's marriage in the Three Kingdoms period.
The temple was founded in 256 during the Eastern Wu dynasty, making it one of the region's oldest religious sites. The iron pagoda was constructed in 825, and the entire complex was relocated to its present location in 1078.
The name Ganlu, "sweet dew", refers to the dew said to have fallen when the temple was founded in 265. Tradition also links the site to Liu Bei's marriage to Sun Shangxiang during the Three Kingdoms period, a story staged in the Peking opera "Dragon and Phoenix Bring Prosperity".
Entry to the Main Hall is through small side doors, as the front gate leads directly to the back wall. Plan time to climb through the different levels to fully explore the complex.
The Iron Pagoda beside the temple was built in 825 by Li Deyu, Duke of Wei, and moved to its present spot in 1078. Three of its seven storeys collapsed at the end of the 19th century, leaving four. When workers restored it in 1960 they found a rectangular underground chamber holding over 700 śarīras, eleven of them Sakyamuni's.
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