Jade Buddha Temple in Shanghai

The Jade Buddha Temple is a Buddhist temple established in Shanghai in 1882.  Originally, two jade Buddhas, a sitting Buddha and a reclining Buddha, were imported from Burma and located in the temple.  Later, a larger reclining Buddha made of marble was brought in from Singapore and the collection of ornate statues continued to grow from there.

The temple is located in a busy residential area of Shanghai, about 3.5 km (2.2 miles) from People's Park.

 Entrance to the Jade Buddha Temple

Upon entering the temple, there are peaceful courtyards and walkways connecting the buildings, with the skyscrapers of Shanghai looking down on this tranquil setting.

 Courtyards and walkways

The buildings of the temple are small, each containing a different representation of Buddha.

Temple buildings

Walking into the temple buildings (and peering into the ones closed to public access), I admire the sitting and reclining Buddhas (no pictures are allowed in the room with the sitting jade Buddha).

 Reclining Buddhas, in jade and marble

Other great Buddha statues are located in other buildings of the compound.

 Buddha statues

 And, surrounding the Buddha statues are statues of important warriors and politicians of the time.

 Other statues accompanying Buddha

Places and alters for worship, to burn incense, and to make other offerings are located throughout the compound.

Worship

The Jade Buddha Temple is beautiful, well maintained and perfectly located in the heart of Shanghai.

Duolun Road Cultural District in Shanghai

Duolun Road was home to numerous writers and authors in the early 20th century and has been preserved as a pedestrian street with numerous museums, tea houses, and galleries, buildings representative of the architecture of 1920s/1930s Shanghai.

I walk a few blocks from Lu Xun Park and enter the previous century.

Both ends of Duolun Street

 Grand houses along the street

The road and side streets are lined with trees, providing shade and complementing the architecture of the buildings.

 Trees everywhere

Continuing down the street, I find more great buildings, residential, shops, and restaurants all mixed together.

 More great buildings

Along the street, sculptures depict people going about everyday life in 1920s/1930s Shanghai.

 Sculptures on the street

As I leave Duolun Road into modern Shanghai, I immediately stumble onto current times:  a crew of delivery people waiting for lunch orders to roll in so they can hop on their motorcycles and scooters and distribute them across the district.

 Back to reality