Nanguo Temple (南郭寺), named for its location to the south of Tianshui city, is one of the rare temples facing north. The temple has a history of over a thousand years and has been a place visited by poets and scholars throughout the ages. The famous Tang Dynasty poet Du Fu, during his stay in Qinzhou (today’s Tianshui) in 759 AD, wrote more than a hundred poems in praise of the area.
The temple complex is grand in scale, divided into three courtyards: west, central, and east. The Western Courtyard is the main courtyard of Nanguo Temple, including the mountain gate, bell and drum tower, Hall of Heavenly Kings, Mahavira Hall, East and West side halls, East and West Zen courtyards, and the Reclining Buddha Hall. The East Zen Courtyard serves as a mausoleum shrine, with statues of the poet Du Fu and his two sons Zongwen and Zongwu; the West Zen Courtyard is now the reception and office area of Nanguo Temple Park; the Reclining Buddha Hall is adjacent to the West Zen Courtyard, housing a reclining Buddha made of Burmese jade. This courtyard originally had a seven-story brick pagoda for relics, which has collapsed.
The Central Courtyard features the Guansheng Hall, also known as the Wealth God Hall. It is said that this was originally the scripture storage building of Nanguo Temple, destroyed by fire, and rebuilt during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty into the Guansheng Hall, a rose garden, a bonsai garden, and a flower trellis corridor. The Eastern Courtyard is famous for the Beiliu Spring, the newly built Ermiaoxuan Poetry Stele Corridor, and the Plum Garden.
In the Mahavira Hall Courtyard, there is an ancient cypress tree over 2500 years old, currently the third longest-living tree in China. Remarkably, the southern branch of this tree has dark, frosty bark, appears dry and withered, but its top remains vibrant with lush foliage; the northwest branch is already dead; the northern branch cleverly rests on the branches of a locust tree. Astonishingly, within the split trunk of the old tree grows a hackberry tree with a chest circumference of 108 centimeters, coexisting with the ancient tree.
Basic Information
| Estimated Length of Tour | 1 – 2 hours |
| Ticket Price | 20 RMB |
| Opening Hours | 8.30 – 18.00 (1st March – 31st October) 8.30 – 17.30 (1st November – 28th February) |
| Telephone Number | 0086-0938-8623147 |
Location and Transportation
Nanguo Temple is located at 39 Nanguo Road, Qinzhou District, Tianshui City, Gansu Province. To reach the temple, you can take bus routes 5, 9, or 80 and get off at Nanguo Temple Station, then walk up the hill. Alternatively, a taxi from Qinzhou District to the base of the hill costs around 10 yuan. If you prefer not to walk for 30 minutes, you can negotiate with the driver for a ride up the hill for about 30 yuan.
