In the bustling city of Shanghai, there is a temple called Zhenrui Temple, which is truly hidden in the city and stands alone amidst all the skyscrapers around it. The temple, along with the park it was built in, has become a short break from the surrounding temples, so find out more about it.

In Zhenru

Time seems to be "blocked"

Slow enough that you can follow in its footsteps

Not thinking about trivialities, not wanting to think about the future, and alone in peace

Many old-time Shanghainese

will come to Zhenru twice a year

to check in.

One time to eat mutton, one time to burn incense

Zhenru, the ancient name of Taoxi, named after Taopu. In the Yuan Dynasty, it was a town of merchants and traders, so it was also known as "Copper Zhenru". To understand the history of Zhenru, you have to start with a temple.

Zhenru Temple

Zhenru Temple, formerly known as Wanshousi Temple, is customarily referred to in Shanghai as the "Great Temple". It is rumored to have been built in the Yuan Dynasty and has a history of more than 800 years. In fact, the history of Putuo District had a lot of temples, but the vast majority of them have been destroyed, the surviving temples, to Zhenru Temple for the earliest, the most profound impact. Many people do not know, Zhenru Temple is also one of the four famous temples in Shanghai (the remaining three temples are: Jing'an, Longhua, Jade Buddha), although the fame is not as big as the other temples, but there are a lot of good men and women, and for a hundred years the incense continues to burn.

With the general temple yellow walls and golden tiles different, the real temple did not have a heavy gold body, go is the white walls and black tiles elegant wind, everywhere reveals the ancient and simple wind, which is really not common in Shanghai. Outside the temple traffic, the temple is quiet, Buddhist sound, beyond the world, a quiet and peaceful scene, is a rare side of the city of Shanghai pure land.

Inside the monks can also be seen from time to time to do field chanting Buddhist scriptures, more to the temple added a solemn. When you are in a restless mood, come to Zhenru Temple to walk and sit, chanting prayers, the world of the tired and disturbed mind, suddenly have a moment of peace.

The whole Zhenrui Temple is not big, an hour or so will be able to stroll through. But the temple step by step, the layout of the regular, Buddhist solemnity is very strong, suitable for slowly wandering. Zhenru Square Pagoda, Yuanjue Hall, Jizang Hall, Cangjing Cradle, Bell and Drum Towers, East and West Halls, Monks' Rooms ...... Each hall, the Buddha Hall, reveals a sense of historical gravity. As soon as you come in from the inner courtyard, you can see the treasure of Zhenru Temple - the Yuan Dynasty Great Hall. It is one of the best-preserved wooden temples of the Yuan Dynasty in the south of the Yangtze River, and the earliest surviving wooden structure in Shanghai.

Contemporary architectural masters North Liang (Sicheng), South Liu (Dunzhen) and Chinese and foreign architectural experts have come to visit, inspection, investigation, research, in the history of architecture and Buddhism have a high research and historical value, have to admire the wisdom of the ancients and craftsmanship. In front of the hall courtyard is full of lotus and cypress, in the middle of summer, the lotus bloom beautiful, a full of life. In the courtyard there are two huge ginkgo trees, the same life with the temple, after more than 800 years of vicissitudes, still flourishing.

One of the trees withered during the Cultural Revolution, but miraculously came back to life in '92, which was a sensation, and nowadays, many people make a wish under the tree, praying for peace and joy. If you want to really appreciate the beauty of the ancient ginkgo, you may want to wait until the fall, full of golden ginkgo trees in full bloom, covered in the Sanskrit temple, that is a rare beauty of the temple. The northernmost part of the temple, is the world-famous true as the pagoda. From a distance, towering in the sky, lofty and solemn. Zhenru Pagoda is a four-sided square tower, 53 meters high, nine layers outside, ten layers inside, plus eleven layers in the underground palace ****. Inside the underground palace is enshrined the only allegedly real body relic of Sakyamuni Buddha in Shanghai. It used to be possible to climb to the top of the pagoda to have a panoramic view of Putuo, but now it is closed for the protection of cultural relics. Each floor of the pagoda's eaves are hung with copper bells, the breeze blowing through the ding-dong sound, the mood suddenly calm down.

There are two small lotus ponds in front of the stupa, written on the top "Do not put turtles", headline bacteria or the first time I saw such a warning, the pond inside the colorful lotus blooming, from time to time there are dragonflies flying over, as if back to the small time. Many people come to Zhenru Temple must do one thing, is to turn the cylinder, which is a rare in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and other areas of the cylinder, just below the stupa, a **** 108, around the tower for a week. Imagine yourself as a devout believer in Cangyangjiazuo's writing, while turning the cylinder, while devoutly praying, the soul is highly baptized.

Besides these majestic and exquisite buildings, the temple is filled with Buddhist beauty that requires you to take a closer look. For example, the wall reliefs can be seen everywhere, and every step you take, you will come across the floor tiles carved with lotus flower patterns, which are immaculate, and the steps are full of lotus flowers, and a 200-meter long wooden calligraphy and painting gallery, which contains various stone tablets and many contemporary Zen calligraphy and painting works, is also a major feature of the Zhenrui Temple. Green trees and koi carp.

The temple also has a river that runs alongside the temple, accompanied by the coziness of small bridges and flowing water, and the relaxation of the summer breeze like a song, and sitting by the promenade and relaxing, you can spend a leisurely afternoon.

When you come to Zhenrui Temple, you can't miss the fasting lunch inside, which is served from 11:00 noon. There is a wooden door with the words "Dining Entrance" on it, and it's on the first basement floor, so it's easy to find. Dining place called "Ruyi Zhai", clean and bright, without half a trace of grease and smoke, to eat people are also very conscious of "stop talking", orderly queuing. Vegetarian food 10 dollars a share, there are vegetables, rice, soup. Inside there are four or five kinds of vegetarian dishes, celery leaves, four seasonal beans, fried pumpkin, tofu...... The flavor is surprisingly good, and the headline fungus can't resist the CD-ROM.

There is also free porridge served inside. Because not hungry, our photographer little brother did not buy food, I did not expect Ruyi Zhai's grandmother was concerned about the little brother shouted over, enthusiastically helped to fill a bowl of congee, so people are very touched. The first and fifteenth will also serve noodles, a simple bowl of vegetarian noodles, but eat out a different flavor. Therefore, many people will come to Zhenru Temple to have a fasting meal and experience the daily life of an ascetic monk. After kowtowing, burning incense, turning the scriptures, blowing in the wind, making a wish, eating a meal, and being satisfied~leaving the temple and returning to the hustle and bustle of the world, in exchange for inner peace and tranquility, this trip to Zhenru Temple is really worth it.

Zhenru Temple

Address: No. 399, Lanxi Road, Shanghai

Transportation: Metro Line 11, Zhenru Station

Opening Hours: Daily 5:30-16:00, incense season: 5:00-16:00

Zhujiajiao, Qibao, Fengjing and other ancient towns have been heard of, but Zhenru Ancient Town, a lot of people have not been there, or even said, have not heard of it, in fact, Zhenru Ancient Town, but the only one in Shanghai within the Central Ring Road in the ancient town, not far from the Zhenru Temple, the entrance to the pagoda and the feet of the bullet-chipped road, to people Telling the history of Zhenru and the vicissitudes of change, but also witnessed the development of Zhenru area, the street, corridor columns, stores, eaves, green stone road ..... The street surface, corridors, pillars, shops, eaves, green stone road, and so on still retain many architectural features of the ancient town. And Lanxi Street, is the original ancient town of an old street, nowadays, the ancient town also hides a lot of net red store, it is worth you one by one to pull weeds and hit the card

Zhenru Mutton Museum, the ancient town of a hundred years of floating incense

Address: Temple Street 1 (Temple Street and North Stone Road intersection of the Northwest corner of the)

Zhenru town used to have three big treasures: Zhenru Mutton, Bean Products and Dobu. These are the "treasures" that the old Shanghai people talked about. Among them, Zhenru Mutton is the most famous.

In the ancient town of Zhenru, there is such a Zhenru Mutton Restaurant, inherited more than 200 years of history of mutton processing technology, but also listed as Shanghai Intangible Cultural Heritage. When Shanghai people want to eat mutton, they will almost always think of their house first. A bowl of braised lamb noodles can capture the stomachs of foodies, and the lamb and lamb soup noodles are served separately in very generous portions. Fresh mutton with skin and bones cut into small pieces, tied with silk grass, just on the table on the aroma, mouth watering. Mutton Museum and the architectural style of the old town echoed, ancient door, wooden window grill tables and chairs ...... Inside eating a meal of mutton old feeling.

Old Shengxing, every day is everyone

Address: 300 Lanxi Road

Speaking of old Shengxing soup dumplings, Shanghai people will not be unfamiliar with the doorstep of a possible. Every meal time, it is full of everyone, the price is relatively civilian, 20 dollars can eat to support. Shanghai people like to eat pan-fried, that is well-known, and the old Shengxing pan-fried can be described as a masterpiece, 6 yuan / 4 only, thin skin and thick filling, there are a lot of soup inside, eat carefully hot mouth. In the summer and then a bowl of topping cold noodles or cold wontons, the taste is really a whine ~ Shanghai national specialty food mall, you can find the hometown of the local specialties.

Address: 231 Lanxi Road

Shanghai's specialties can be found here, not only foreign tourists, Shanghai's uncles and aunts come here to queue up is also the norm. The point is, not only is there a wide variety of specialties here, but the prices are also very cheap. Next door, Yipin Yongfeng, which has also been open for many years, at first glance looks a lot like Shanghai's national souvenir food mall, but sells a lot of everyday food inside.

Fujian Wuyishan hairy bamboo shoots, really the headline mushroom stunned, the head is half a man high, only 3.8 yuan / catty, have to come to a man to move home.

Du Sanzhen, a hundred years of taste from Suzhou

Address: 282 Lanxi Road

Du Sanzhen is also a century-old store, said to be the brand of Suzhou, specializing in brine, is said to have been founded in Guangxu year. It is on the same level as Ala Shanghai Guangming Village Delicatessen. Inside the brine dishes are very fancy, San Zhen head meat, sauce pork knuckle, five spice rabbit leg, walking oil meat, sauce ear ...... In the summer, you can buy some marinated vegetables to drink, but also have a different flavor. Especially recommended to go oil meat, let aunts help you slice, go back and taro with steam, coy very much Zhenru Ancient Town is not far away from the Tongchuan Road Aquatic Market originally strolling through the town can also go by the way to buy seafood, but now the Tongchuan Road Aquatic Market has been relocated so, if you still have plenty of time, why not divert to go to the Zhenru Park to stroll around the Zhenru Park, the Duduhe River Road side of a green and thick small park, is located in Shanghai, Shanghai! No. 1894, Daduhe Road, Putuo District, a ten-minute walk from Zhenru Temple. The park is full of green trees, flowers in full bloom, and the breeze brings the coolness of summer, which is indeed a good place to ride the breeze. Choir practicing songs, walking children, square dancing ...... The surrounding residents always come to the park without fail and live a colorful life. There are also several meowers in the park, eating and sleeping. In the lake outside the fence, you can still see big white geese swimming around happily. In the southeast corner of the park, you can see the True Buddha Pagoda from afar.

The most beautiful time to visit Zhenru Park is during the winter months, when the plum blossoms are in full bloom and the scent of the flowers is refreshing, so it's very beautiful and worth a look. Recently, the weather in Shanghai is very good if you have time, you may want to go to stroll around Zhenru taste a hundred years of the ancient town of delicious, feel the quiet of the downtown leisure and cozy ~