Grand China Travel

Home Guangzhou Travel Guide Guangzhou Buddhist Temples

Places Of Worship In Guangzhou

Guangzhou Buddhist Temples, Guangzhou Catholic & Christian Church, Guangzhou Taoist Temples, Guangzhou Mosques.

Being the starting point of the Marine Silk Road, Guangzhou is one of the port cities where early western traders settled down in China. As early as in the Tang Dynasty, Arabian traders came to Guangzhou and they built one of the earliest mosques in China, the Guangzhou Huaisheng Mosque (local people call this mosque Guangta Mosque). In 1807, a British Priest named Morrison came to Guangzhou and it symbolized the introduction of Christianity to Guangzhou. Accordingly there are many famous religious sites in Guangzhou. For example, Guangxiao Temple is the oldest and the largest Buddhist temple in Lingnan area; Sanyuan Temple was the largest Taoist temple in Jin Dynasty; Shishi Sacred Heart Cathedral was the largest Catholic Church with Gothic architecture built in Qing Dynasty.
 
Church (Catholic & Christian) in Guangzhou 
There are mainly nine Christian Churches in Guangzhou City. They are Shamian Church, Dongshan Church, Jiuzhu Church, Xian Church, Shifu Church, Guangxiao Church, Henan Church, Fangcun Church and Shahe Church. As to the Catholic Church, Stone House Sacred Heart Catholic Church is the most famous one in Guangzhou.
 
Buddhist Temples in Guangzhou 
Guangzhou was the starting point of Maritime Silk Road and India was an important transfer station on the road; consequently, the trade contacts between India and Guangzhou was frequent. Due to the trading contact, Buddhism was brought to Guangzhou area. Many eminent monks from west region or foreign countries gathered here.
 
Taoist (Daoist) Temples in Guangzhou 
Taoism was popularized in Guangzhou in Jin Dynasty when Ge Hong escaped to Guangzhou from chaos in central plain area. Ge Hong inherited and improved the early Taoism theories. He adopted some essences from the Confucianism, such as loyalty and filial piety. Thanks to him, the Taoism began to popularize in Guangzhou.
 
Mosques (Masjid) in Guangzhou 
In ancient times, Guangzhou was the gathering place of foreign merchants, especially the merchants from Persia and Arabian countries. Apart from commodities, they also brought their region to Guangzhou. Among those Muslim believers, A Bu, who came to Guangzhou in early Tang Dynasty, was the most famous one.
 
Article Info
Title: Introducing Beijing
Author: Johnping
Last updated: 12/13/2013
Login to post comments