White Deer Temple

White Deer Temple stands on the south bank of the Zi River in Yiyang, on Talin Mountain, which it follows up and down. The complex is laid out in three routes—central, east and west—and includes the Shanmen gate, Mahavira Hall, Jade Buddha Hall, Hall of Bhaisajyaguru, Hall of Guanyin, Hall of Guru, Dharma Hall, bell tower, drum tower, dining room and monks' quarters. The Jade Buddha Hall, completed in 1996, holds a reclining Sakyamuni figure and a Weituo statue, both carved from jade brought from Myanmar.

The temple's origins trace back to the Tang Dynasty, around 806 to 820, when it was founded as a religious center and place of learning. After severe destruction during the Taiping Rebellion in the 1800s, it was rebuilt by the monk Weiguang with support from a local official.

The name is explained by two legends. One says that during the Tang dynasty the chancellor Pei Xiu lodged on the riverside hill and white deer came each night to hear him chant sutras, so the hill was called White Deer Mountain and a temple built below it. The other says that during the Chunxi era (1174–1189) a white deer brought medicinal herbs to the temple during an epidemic, and the temple was renamed in thanks. The temple's "White Deer Evening Bell" is counted among the ten scenes of Yiyang.

The temple is built on the slopes of Talin Mountain and laid out in three routes: central, east and west. The Mahavira Hall opened in autumn 1990; the Hall of Bhaisajyaguru and its statues were consecrated on the 30th day of the 9th lunar month in 1999. The halls stand on rising ground, so expect steps between levels.

The temple's name is tied to two deer legends: one says a white deer came nightly to hear the Tang chancellor Pei Xiu chant sutras on the hill, the other that during the Chunxi era (1174–1189) a deer brought medicinal herbs that ended a plague in Yiyang. The hill became White Deer Mountain and the temple took its name.