Chic . Explore . ThinkerTen
  • Home
  • Destinations
    • Asia
      • Cambodia
      • China
      • India
      • Japan
      • Laos
      • Malaysia
      • Myanmar
      • Philippines
      • Singapore
      • South Korea
      • Thailand
      • Turkey
      • UAE
      • Uzbekistan
      • Vietnam
    • Europe
      • Austria
      • Azerbaijan
      • Belgium
      • Czech Republic
      • France
      • Germany
      • Greece
      • Hungary
      • Italy
      • Netherlands
      • Poland
      • Portugal
      • Spain
      • Switzerland
      • UK
    • North America
      • USA
    • Oceania
      • Australia
    • Africa
      • Egypt
  • Itineraries
    • Asia
      • China
      • India
      • Japan
      • Malaysia
      • Singapore
      • South Korea
      • Thailand
      • Turkey
      • Vietnam
    • Europe
      • Eastern Europe
      • UK
      • Spain
      • Western Europe
    • North America
      • USA
    • Oceania
      • Australia
    • Africa
      • Egypt
  • Videos
  • Reviews
    • Hotel
    • Rental Car
    • Food
    • Airport
    • University
  • Resources
    • Agoda
    • RentalCars
    • Klook
    • Trip
  • 中文版
  • About
  • Home
  • Destinations
    • Asia
      • Cambodia
      • China
      • India
      • Japan
      • Laos
      • Malaysia
      • Myanmar
      • Philippines
      • Singapore
      • South Korea
      • Thailand
      • Turkey
      • UAE
      • Uzbekistan
      • Vietnam
    • Europe
      • Austria
      • Azerbaijan
      • Belgium
      • Czech Republic
      • France
      • Germany
      • Greece
      • Hungary
      • Italy
      • Netherlands
      • Poland
      • Portugal
      • Spain
      • Switzerland
      • UK
    • North America
      • USA
    • Oceania
      • Australia
    • Africa
      • Egypt
  • Itineraries
    • Asia
      • China
      • India
      • Japan
      • Malaysia
      • Singapore
      • South Korea
      • Thailand
      • Turkey
      • Vietnam
    • Europe
      • Eastern Europe
      • UK
      • Spain
      • Western Europe
    • North America
      • USA
    • Oceania
      • Australia
    • Africa
      • Egypt
  • Videos
  • Reviews
    • Hotel
    • Rental Car
    • Food
    • Airport
    • University
  • Resources
    • Agoda
    • RentalCars
    • Klook
    • Trip
  • 中文版
  • About

Chic . Explore . ThinkerTen

My Style ~ My Journey ~ My Inspiration

ChinaJiangsuTravel

Hanshan Temple in Suzhou China 苏州寒山寺

by kumamonjeng December 11, 2019
written by kumamonjeng December 11, 2019
Hanshan Temple in Suzhou China 苏州寒山寺

Another popular place in Suzhou is Hanshan Temple also known as Cold Mountain Temple. It gets famous because of the poem called “Maple Bridge at Night “枫桥夜泊.  It about 15 mins from Suzhou city by taxi which is the easiest way.

Hanshan Temple in Suzhou China 苏州寒山寺

枫桥夜泊 Maple Bridge at Night 

The famous poem was written on the wall before you enter to Han Shan Temple.

张继(唐)

月落乌啼霜满天,

江枫渔火对愁眠。

姑苏城外寒山寺,

夜半钟声到客船。

The translation:

The moon is setting. The crows are crying. The atmosphere is heavy with a chilly autumn frost. The maple trees and the lights of the fishing boats are reflected in the water. Yet I am unable to sleep because of sorrow. I vaguely hear the bells are ringing in the Temple of Frost Hill outside of Suzhou city at midnight. The poem describes the poet’s experience of taking a boat through Suzhou City. The boat is resting at night. The clear view at night and the sound of bells make the author feel very lonely and homesick.

Hanshan Temple in Suzhou China 苏州寒山寺

Background of Hanshan Temple

The Hanshan Temple was built during the Liang Dynasty TianJian 梁代天监年间 and has a history of more than a thousand years. The original name was “Miao Lipu Ming Tower “妙利普明塔院”. According to legend, a monk from the Tang Dynasty, Han Shan came to the temple and changed the name to Hanshan temple. But the temple got famous from the poem written by Zhang Ji – Maple Bridge of Night.

Hanshan Temple in Suzhou China 苏州寒山寺

There are several important items to look at in Hanshan Temple

Hanshan Temple in Suzhou China 苏州寒山寺

Han Shan Temple Great Hall

The Great Hall has always been a temple dedicated to the Buddha but over here the Great Hall has its own unique layout. The statue worshipped here is not Buddha but Han Shan monk.

Hanshan Temple in Suzhou China 苏州寒山寺

The picture of Journey to the West is on top of the rooftop. 🙂

Hanshan Temple in Suzhou China 苏州寒山寺

Puming Pagoda 普明宝塔

For more than a thousand years, the pagoda has been destroyed and built. In 1996, Hanshan Temple has a massive facelift and the Puming Pagoda was styled with the glorious Tang style architecture.

Hanshan Temple in Suzhou China 苏州寒山寺

The iconic poem is written in almost every corner of the temple.

Hanshan Temple in Suzhou China 苏州寒山寺

Ancient plaque in a long corridor

Hanshan Temple is famous for its inscription arts hence you see plaques after plaques with beautiful poems engraved with different styles of calligraphy arts.

Hanshan Temple in Suzhou China 苏州寒山寺

Bell Ringing in Hanshan Temple

Most pilgrims will go to the ancient bell tower and ring the ancient bell of Hanshan Temple. The bell-ringing event for every New Year is very popular and usually, the bell rings 108 times. Reason to knock 108 times means to welcome the new and remove the old. 108 bells are believed to bring auspicious and happiness.

For the usual day, you can ring the bell and pay 10 Yuan RMB (SGD 2.00) 3 times. However, during the New year, it cost about 300 yuan (SGD 60) to ring.

Hanshan Temple in Suzhou China 苏州寒山寺

Giant Plaque 华夏诗碑

There is a giant plaque with a body height of 16.9 m tall. The front of the monument is engraved with “Feng Qiao Ye Bo” written by Yu Yue of the Qing Dynasty, and the back is engraved with the Qianlong Royal Pen Prajna Paramita 《般若波罗蜜多心经》”, which is currently the largest and highest poem in China, and is also called “Chinese The first poem monument. ”

 

Hanshan Temple in Suzhou China 苏州寒山寺

Vegetarian Cuisine

You can have vegetarian noodles in the temple in case you wanted to try the temple cuisine.

Hanshan Temple in Suzhou China 苏州寒山寺

Final thoughts:

Hanshan Temple gets famous from the poem -“Maple Bridge at Night” 枫桥夜泊. The temple atmosphere, the ancient bridge architecture, the river, and the bell sounds are something you need to pay attention to and relate back to the poem “Maple Bridge at Night” 枫桥夜泊.

 

Hanshan Temple in Suzhou China 苏州寒山寺

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest
China SuzhouCold Mountain Temple SuzhouGiant Plaque 华夏诗碑Han Shan TempleHan Shan Temple Great HallHanshan monkPuming Pagoda 普明宝塔Suzhou top sites张继枫桥夜泊 Maple Bridge at Night
previous post
Tiger Hill Suzhou 苏州虎丘
next post
Shantang Street – Memory of old Suzhou 苏州七里山塘

You may also like

4 day Itinerary Kuala Selangor and Shah Alam...

June 3, 2025

10 Day itinerary travel around Mt Fuji Japan

May 21, 2025

China Guiyang and Dejiang in October

March 18, 2025

Danang 4 Nights including Hoi An and Hue...

March 18, 2025

4-Night Luang Prabang Itinerary: What to See &...

March 7, 2025

15 comments

Cristina Petrini December 11, 2019 - 12:00 pm

The beautiful China to discover, that of traditions, history and beauty!!!

Reply
caitscozycorner December 11, 2019 - 4:30 pm

oh my gosh this is gorgeous i love all your photos! 🙂

Reply
Chad December 11, 2019 - 9:29 pm

I would love to explore all of China one day. It is such a gorgeous country. One day for sure.

Reply
Stacie December 11, 2019 - 10:48 pm

That temple looks amazing! I would love to see it in person one day. Maybe on my trip to China. I WILL get there one day.

Reply
Yeah Lifestyle December 12, 2019 - 7:00 am

What a stunning place to visit especially with the temple being more tyhan a thousand years old! Beautiful architecture too

Reply
catherine santiago jose December 12, 2019 - 2:16 pm

I’ve been to China once but never had a chance of visiting this beautiful place because we are running out of time and aside from that my daughter was already tired but hopefully to see this place once I go back to China.

Reply
Ashley r December 12, 2019 - 3:15 pm

I love your bright umbrella that pops in the photos. This looks like a great place to visit ,

Reply
Garf December 12, 2019 - 4:57 pm

I would like to visit China someday. It’s definitely on my bucket list.

Reply
Catherine December 12, 2019 - 5:28 pm

Another incredible post! The temple is so beautiful…what a gorgeous place!

Reply
Natural Beauty And Makeup December 12, 2019 - 11:35 pm

Wow, this Hanshan temple is so beautiful! I love visiting temples, will definitely check out this place ☺

Reply
Jhentea Guzman December 13, 2019 - 10:18 am

I have never been to China but it looks so beautiful, just perfect to relax and refresh. Thanks for showing me another great place to add to my bucket list.

Reply
AMY December 13, 2019 - 12:42 pm

Wow, this place looks incredible. There’s so much to do and see there! Looks like a brilliant place to take the whole family

Reply
katrina Kroeplin December 13, 2019 - 1:58 pm

that temple is so pretty. i would love to see it in person one day.

Reply
dearmummyblog December 13, 2019 - 3:42 pm

We love calligraphy art so would enjoy seeing all the plaques and decorative artwork! What a fab place to visit x

Reply
World of Faz December 13, 2019 - 5:47 pm

I have seen this in some Chinese TV series. OMMMMG Now I really want to see this in person.

Reply

Leave a ReplyCancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Follow us on FaceBook!

Facebook

Popular Posts

  • Japan 8 days self drive in Central Region – Summary Itinerary

  • China : Shop like a local in Urumqi City in Xinjiang

  • UK Self Drive Itinerary Covering England, Wales & Scotland, the entire Great Britain!

  • All you need to know about Valley of the Kings in Luxor Egypt

  • South Korea Self Drive 8 days Itinerary

  • China Xi’an 5 : Hua Shan Lun Jian/ 华山论剑 – Discussion of Swords in Mount Hua

  • Puente Nuevo an iconic stone bridge in Ronda Spain

  • Top 5 Reasons why you should self drive in Kyushu – 8 days – Itinerary Summary

  • China Hengdian Dream Valley 横店梦幻谷

  • Along the River During the Qingming Festival (清明上河图)

About Me

About Me

I am the travel writer for Thinkerten. I lived in Japan, Australia, Malaysia and now based in Singapore. Speak 4 languages, Japanese, English, Malay, and Chinese. There are the many types of travels one can experience and mine are mostly focus on self-driving/road trip to explore the places I wanted to see and learn about. Only if you get out of your country, you will see the real you and understand more about yourself, to realize of your own identity, your own culture, and your root.

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Klook.com

Copyright © 2017 - 2025 · ThinkerTen. All rights reserved.