Jiangnan: Hanshan Temple, Suzhou

Hanshan Temple in Suzhou would have been just one of the thousand of "unknown" Buddhist temples in China if not because of a poem written during the Tang Dynasty. This poem which was written by Zhang Zi when he was travelling and stopped in this town propelled this little known place or more specifically the Hanshan Temple to perpetual fame.

Hanshan Temple was believed to have been built at around early 500 AD in Fengqiao (translated as Maple Bridge), about 5 Km west of old Suzhou. The temple obtained its name, the Hanshan Temple after a monk called Han Shan became the abbot at around the first quarter of 600 AD.

The poem describes the dejected and melancholy feeling of  a traveler who stopped by Fengqiao and spent the night in a boat. The key phrase is when he heard the ringing of the bell from Hanshan Temple.

The ringing of the bell at Hanshan Temple on the eve of Chinese New Year is now a major pilgrimage and tourism event.

The visit to this temple did bring back memory of studying this poem during my days at the secondary school, "楓橋夜泊" translated as " A Night Mooring by Maple Bridge" or "The Midnight Bells".

月落烏啼霜滿天。

江楓漁火對愁眠。

姑蘇城外寒山寺，

夜半鐘聲到客船。

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In China, there is a Pedestrian Walk nearly in every city. Shops lined along the side of the Walk. They cater for visitors who want to shop, eat and drink. In Suzhou, we were taken to the Pedestrian Walk called the Guan Qian Street (观前街).