Jingyuan Temple in Qapqal, Ili

Jingyuan Temple in Qapqal, Ili

Attractions Overview

Jingyuan Temple is located in Sun Zhaqi Niulu Village, Sun Zhaqi Niulu Township, Xibo Autonomous County, Chabu Charl. Built in the 18th year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty (1892), it is a Tibetan religious building, commonly known in Xibo as "Lama Sumu", and is one of the nine famous temples in Yili in the Qing Dynasty. The temple faces south with a construction area of 2811 square meters.

English Name: Jingyuan Temple in Qapqal, Ili
Type: Ili Scenic Area, Ili famous spots & Ili attractions
Best Time: All Year Around
Recommended Visiting Hours: 2-3 hours

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Why is Jingyuan Temple So Special?

The main hall is a two story building over 8 meters high. with clinker-built flying- eaves and carved beams and painted ridgepole. This temple provides valuable materials for studies on history, culture and religious belief of the Xibe Nationality ill Xinjiang .

Where is Jingyuan Temple

Jingyuan Temple in Qapqal Located to the west of the county seat, the Jingyuan Temple was built in 1895. covering an area of about 1500 square meters, with a floor space of about 1000 square meters The temple faces south, including front, middle and back courtyards and a temple gate.

History of Jingyuan Temple

Jingyuan temple was built by the concerted efforts of the eight Niulu after the Xibo people came to Yili. at that time, each of the eight Niulu built a brick kiln to burn bricks and tiles needed to build Jingyuan temple. Even so, Jingyuan Temple took 5 years to complete.

The entire building of Jingyuan Temple has brick carving and wood carving art, and is equipped with colored drawing and clay sculpture. It integrates the original architectural culture and the architectural style of border areas, fully demonstrates the architectural and arts and crafts level of the Xibo people, and is also a historical witness of the Xibo people and their brothers in defending the border areas and safeguarding the reunification of the motherland.

Chabuchar, meaning “granary” in Sibo, is the only Sibo autonomous county in China. In 1764, more than 4,000 Xibe soldiers and civilians moved west to Yili and stationed in Qapqal to cultivate and guard the border. 200 households were recorded as one ox, and a total of eight banners and eight ox records were compiled. Up to now, all villages and towns under Qapqal county still use the title of “ox records”.

Main Attraction of Jingyuan Temple

It is a grand building complex. The main building, neat in arrangement, is situated at the middle courtyard, including front hall, middle hall (now nothing remained), main hall, side halls on left and right bell and drum towers standing face to face.

Entering the gate, there was a colored clay sculpture of the four generals of the magic family from the romance of sealing gods. Walking out of the north gate of Tianwang Hall is the front courtyard of Tathagata Hall. Peony flowers are planted on the roadside of the main road in the middle, and “statues” of three cranes stand quietly under the peony flowers. when approaching, the three “statues” suddenly begin to hide behind the peony flowers. originally they were three captive cranes. cranes are auspicious incarnations and are therefore deeply loved by the siberian people.

The Tathagata Buddha statue is in the center of the Tathagata Buddha hall, and various bronze Buddha statues are on both sides. It is said that gold, silver and jewelry were placed in the bronze statues before they were looted in the turmoil.
Around the hall of Tathagata, two brick carvings were found on the east wall. One is a picture of a double crane and the other is a picture of “double deer returning to spring”. It is said that the two brick carvings have a history of more than 100 years.

Sanshifo Hall is the tallest and most magnificent building in Jingyuan Temple.
The 3rd Buddha is the past Buddha, the present Buddha and the future Buddha. Many Buddhist temples are dedicated to them. The three statues of the Three Worlds Buddha in Jingyuan Temple are different from those seen elsewhere. They have obvious national characteristics and have the image characteristics of small eyes and large faces of the Xibo nationality. The Sanshifo in Jingyuan Temple was assimilated by Xibo nationality. There were more than 160 volumes of “Ganzhuer” and dozens of volumes of Arria Sutra in the Hall of the Third Buddha, which is also called the Sutra Pavilion. In those days, there were many scriptures in Jingyuan temple, lamas gathered, legal affairs flourished, and incense was in vogue.

On the east and west sides of the main hall of the 3rd Buddha are side halls, and on the transverse wooden boards under the eaves of the main gate of the eastern side hall, the palace of hell, are painted stories of Tang’s monk and his disciples learning from the journey to the west. The western side hall is the Bodhisattva Hall, which houses many Bodhisattvas. The name of the person who donated the silver when repairing the temple is written on the forehead of the front door.

On the walls of the temple’s cultural relic museum, dozens of pictures of Xibo soldiers and civilians participating in the construction of Jingyuan temple were painted. from tamping to completion, the historical scene at that time was reproduced in the form of comics.

Best Time to Travel Jingyuan Temple

Every autumn, that is, August and September, is the best time to visit Ili.

At this time, the weather began to cool and the fruits began to mature. This is a very suitable time to travel. At this time, most scenic spots began to hang attractive gold. Let’s travel in the golden ocean. The natural scenery around Ili is very beautiful. In our spare time , we take our family to Ili to play, eat delicious fruits and enjoy different local conditions and customs. I believe this is a very beautiful moment and a very happy memory.

How to Get There

  • Bus
    Take bus no.1 from chabuchar county (9: 00-11: 00 a.m. every day, every ten minutes), drive from chabuchar county to xibo folk customs park, get off at xibo folk customs park, and walk for five minutes.
  • Self – driving
    Starting from Yining City, Yining City -S313-S237- Gulza Road-East Street of Chaluge Road-West Street of Chaluge Road-Shuwen Street-Golmin Road -S313- Jingyuan Temple. The whole journey takes about 38 minutes.
  • The coach
    If you start from yining, you need to take a long-distance bus with yining bus terminal to chabuchar county, and then change to bus no.1.

Useful Travel Tips

  • The clothes must be dignified, never be too exposed or dressed in strange clothes, nor should slippers and hats be worn into temples. These are the basic respect for the gods.
  • Avoid loud noises. Although each temple worships different gods, they all hope to purify people’s hearts, so their speech and behavior must be gentle.
  • Prepare 3-5 kinds of offerings such as seasonal fruits and biscuits, but it must be singular (because singular is yang number); In addition, incense and gold paper can also be prepared, depending on the regulations of each temple.

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Edited by Doreen/张洋