Tucked into a residential neighborhood in Putuo District, the Jade Buddha Temple is one of Shanghai's most genuinely active religious sites — which is exactly what sets it apart from the city's more museum-like attractions. Built in 1928 to house two jade Buddha statues smuggled out of Burma by a monk named Huigen, the temple has been a living center of Chan Buddhism ever since. The jade statues themselves, carved from a single piece of white Burmese jade, are the main draw: the larger seated Buddha in the upper hall stands nearly two meters tall and radiates a quiet gravity that even secular visitors tend to find unexpectedly moving.
Religious Place