Like many things, Nanputuo Temple started from scratch: with a single monk named Qin Hao living in a small cave tucked in to the side of the Five Old Men Mountain. Over the past 1000 or so years, the temple has added about 20 buildings, including four axial halls (Heavenly Emperor Hall (Lingxiaodian 凌霄殿), Heroic Treasure Hall (Daxiongbaodian 大雄宝殿), Great Benevolence Hall(Dabeidian 大悲殿), and Buddhist Scripture Repository (Cangjingge 藏经阁).


Today, Nanputuo Buddhist Temple, right outside XMU's Danan Gate, is an active monastery with about 120 monks, and a popular tourist attraction.


Before you actually enter the temple you can stroll around a beautiful lake full of water lilies. The small benches surrounding the lake tempt one to stop a minute and enjoy the view of the two white pagodies, the temple and the lovely slopes of the Five Old Men Mountain (Wulaofeng). 
 

After paying the minimal 3 Yuan entrance fee at the temple, you can enjoy looking at daedal buildings and extraordinary statues, or just climb the granite steps to the peak, where you can enjoy a panoramic view of XMU and Xiamen harbor. While climbing the mountain you might get a glimpse of a very fascinating site: a small cave filled with hundreds of small Buddhist statues. Apart from that cave there are numerous buildings, statues and stone carvings to discover on the mountain. Even if you aren't that interested in temples, or have simply had your fill of them, Nanputuo Temple is worth a look because the mountain's endless meandering paths offer the possibility to be on your own and to retreat from the city, in spite of the crowds of visitors to Nanputuo Temple.


Opening hours: 5:30–18:00

Entrance fee: 3 Yuan