Travel Guide to Nanyue Temple in Hengshan, Hunan

Nanyue District

Scenic spot introduction:

The Nanyue Temple in Hengshan, Hunan, is known as the "No. 1 Temple in the South of the Yangtze River". It is the largest palace-style ancient building complex in southern my country. It integrates national sacrifices, folk pilgrims, Taoist temples, and Buddhist temples. It is the largest traditional culture museum and museum in the south. A superb art palace. Nanyue Temple is a temple where Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism coexist. It is a unique temple in my country. Its architectural culture is extensive and profound, and the buildings on the central axis of the temple are in royal architectural style. It is an important place for emperors of the past dynasties to worship Nanyue Hengshan and for folk pilgrims (Nanyue Holy Emperor). Today, the temple is still very popular, and there are grand temple fairs every year on important Buddhist days. People who worship here not only come from Hunan, Guangdong and other nearby provinces and cities, but also people from Hong Kong and Macao, Southeast Asian Chinese and Japanese who travel long distances to come here. Therefore, the incense here continues all year round.

Attractions distribution:

Nanyue Temple is located at the foot of "Hengshan", one of the five mountains in Hengyang, Hunan Province. It has nine four-story courtyards and covers an area of 120,000 square meters. The main building consists of Lingxing Gate, Kuixing Pavilion, Zhengnan Gate, Yubei Pavilion, Jiaying Gate, Yushu Tower, main hall (Holy Emperor Hall), bedroom and north back gate. To the east are Yuxu Palace, There are eight Taoist palaces including Wanshou Palace, Qinghe Palace, Renshou Palace, Sanyuan Palace, Shouning Palace, Chunyang Palace and Quande Temple. To the west are Huacheng Temple, Chongning Temple, Yunfeng Temple, Guanyin Pavilion, Laonantai Temple, There are eight Buddhist temples: Zhongjing Palace, Tiantang Temple, and Jinlong Temple.

Scenic spot qualifications:

National 5A-level scenic spot, national key cultural relic protection unit

Scenic spot features:

Leisure, mountain climbing, worship, religion

Scenic spot map:

Scenic spot map

Transportation

Scenic spot location:

China>Hunan Province>Hengyang City>Nanyue District

How to get there:

Bus route:

1. Changsha South Bus Station → Nanyue: The fare is 26-42 yuan depending on the car type. The journey takes about 2 hours. The time is 08:10-17:50, all day long. There are about 50 trains stopping at Nanyue.

2. Hengshan Railway Station → Nanyue:

Take the direct bus "Hengshan Railway Station-Nanyue": fare (5 yuan/person), operating time (07:30 in the morning → - 17:30 pm).

Take bus "No. 1" (1 yuan/person) to "Lianglukou Bus Station", then transfer to the "Hengshan-Nanyue" intercity bus (5 yuan/person) to Nanyue Long-distance Bus Station .

Tips: The bus operation time is 06:30 → -18:30, the intercity bus operation time is 07:30 → -17:30).

3. If you arrive in Hengshan at night, it is recommended that you take a taxi to Nanyue Hengshan Scenic Area: the fare is about (15 yuan/person or 60/car). The price is based on the meter. If it is the off-season, You can negotiate the price with the driver.

4. There are buses from Hengshanxi to Nanyue on the high-speed rail. You can also take a taxi to Nanyue. The bus ticket is 5 yuan per person. To take the high-speed rail from Hengyang East to Nanyue, please first take the station to Hengyang Central Bus Station (first take K5 to Hengyang Railway Station, then transfer to Line 18 or 24), and then transfer to the direct express bus from Hengyang to Nanyue.

Scenic area map:

Click to expand the scenic area map

Tickets

Nanyue Temple ticket price:

Peak season (5.1-10.31): 60 yuan

Off-season (11.1-4.30 the following year): 40 yuan

Scenic area opening hours:

Low season: 07:30—17:30

Peak season: 07:00—18:00

Travel Tips

travelling guideline:

1. There are free buses from Nanyue Hengshan Archway to Nanyue Temple.

2. Steps to burn incense in the temple: burn incense first and then worship Buddha. Burn the incense burner on the right for preserving incense, wishing incense, repaying vows, praying for wealth, consecrating incense, returning incense, family portrait incense, and birth year incense. The incense burner on the left is for deceased ancestors to ask Bodhisattva to save the dead. All thresholds in temples cannot be stepped on, because they symbolize the ups and downs on the road of life, so when we come to burn incense and pray for blessings, we just step over them. When men are on the left and women are on the right, men step with their left foot first and women with their right foot first.

Best time to visit:

Suitable for all seasons, July and August of the lunar calendar are the incense peak seasons for Nanyue pilgrimage.

Shopping recommendations:

Shopping: Nanyue Yunwu Tea, wild goose mushrooms, Buddhist beads, Guanyin bamboo shoots.

Food: Nanyue vegetarian food, Nanyue style meat, and local dishes.