/ Jade Buddha Temple

Jade Buddha Temple

A working Buddhist temple housing two remarkable jade Buddhas in the heart of Shanghai.

🏛️ Sights & Landmarks🎭 Arts & Entertainment

🌿 Relaxing🎭 Cultural

The Jade Buddha Temple — Yùfó Chán Sì in Mandarin — is a fully functioning Chan (Zen) Buddhist monastery tucked into a residential neighborhood in northwestern Shanghai. Built in 1882 and relocated to its current site in 1928, it was constructed specifically to house two extraordinarily valuable jade Buddha statues brought back from Burma by the monk Huigen. Unlike many of Shanghai's tourist attractions, this is not a museum or a recreation — monks live and practice here, incense burns constantly, and worshippers come daily to pray. That living quality is what sets it apart from countless temple complexes across China that have become hollow heritage sites.

Local Tips

1
Photography of the main jade Buddha statues is not permitted — rangers enforce this firmly, so don't try to sneak a shot.
2
Buy a bundle of incense at the entrance if you want to participate in the ritual of lighting and offering — it costs almost nothing and adds a lot to the experience.
3
The vegetarian restaurant on the temple grounds serves surprisingly good set lunches at low prices — a genuinely local experience that most visitors skip.
4
The reclining jade Buddha on the ground floor is often overlooked in favor of the famous seated one upstairs — spend time with both.

When to Go

✓Best times

Chinese New Year

The temple draws enormous crowds during Spring Festival as locals come to pray for the new year — culturally fascinating but extremely packed.

Weekday mornings

Arrive early on a weekday for the quietest experience — monks conduct morning rituals and the incense smoke is thick but the crowds are thin.

✕Try to avoid

Spring Festival peak days

On the first days of the lunar new year, queues can stretch for hours and the atmosphere becomes overwhelming for many visitors.

Why Visit

The seated white jade Buddha upstairs — carved from a single piece of Burmese jade and inlaid with jewels — is genuinely breathtaking up close.

It's one of the few places in central Shanghai where you can watch real Buddhist rituals and monastic life playing out around tourists without feeling like you've wandered into a theme park.

The surrounding Jing An neighborhood makes it easy to pair with lunch at a local noodle shop or a walk through one of Shanghai's more authentic street-level districts.

Other top places in Shanghai

🛍️ Shopping

French Concession

🛍️ Shopping

Nanjing Road

🏛️ Sights & Landmarks

Shanghai Museum

🛍️ Shopping

Shanghai Old Town

🏛️ Sights & Landmarks

Shanghai Tower