Skip to main content
Visa-free transit 240h ✓CNY 7.15 ≈ $1HSR network 45,000 km
Visa CheckerContact
  1. Home
  2. Shanghai
  3. Jade Buddha Temple
Jade Buddha Temple

Jade Buddha Temple玉佛寺

One of Shanghai's best-known Buddhist temples, named for two fine jade Buddhas brought from Burma. Founded in 1918 in a dignified Song-style layout, its seated and reclining jade Buddhas are the temple's treasured icons and a highlight of Buddhist culture in Shanghai.

Shanghai · Visitor Guide2026-10-18
Jade Buddha Temple
Jade Buddha Temple
Jade Buddha Temple
Jade Buddha Temple

Quick Answer

Is Jade Buddha Temple worth visiting?

Famous Shanghai Buddhist temple of 1918 with two Burmese jade Buddhas, seated 1.9 m and reclining 4.6 m; entry 30 yuan, 8:00-17:00, 10 minutes' walk from Jiangning Road station.

Quick facts

TicketCNY 30
Hours 8:00-17:00
Recommended duration1-2 hours
Best time to visitAll year
How to get thereMetro Line 13 to Jiangning Road station, then a 10-minute walk; buses 19, 36, 76 and more
English signageYes
Wheelchair accessiblePartial
Founded
HonorsBurmese jade Buddhas
ArchitectureSong-dynasty revival
Jade BuddhasTwo (one seated, one reclining)
LocationAnyuan Road, Jing'an District
StatusA celebrated Shanghai temple

What to expect

Initiated by the monk Xuyun in the late Qing era, Jade Buddha Temple was built in Shanghai in 1918. Its halls follow the Song-dynasty seven-hall monastery layout — screen wall, main gate, Hall of Heavenly Kings, Grand Hall and sutra library in stately sequence. In 1993 metro construction forced a relocation, and the temple was rebuilt at its current site.

Beyond its religious role the temple is a cultural landmark of Jing'an. Old trees shade quiet courtyards that contrast sharply with the surrounding modern city, and on the 1st and 15th of each lunar month and on Buddhist festivals the incense smoke never stops.

How to get there

Metro Line 13 to Jiangning Road station, Exit 2, then a 10-minute walk along Anyuan Road

Best photo spots

  • The temple's main gate
  • The jade Buddhas up close
  • The Grand Hall (Daxiong Baodian)
  • The temple gardens

Tips

  • Go in the morning to avoid the crowds
  • Photography is not allowed inside the halls
  • Admission includes three sticks of incense
  • The surrounding blocks are commercial — good for shopping afterward

Scams to avoid

  • Beware fortune-tellers outside the gate
  • Decline paid "blessing by an eminent monk" offers

Frequently asked questions

Jade Buddha Temple or Jing'an Temple — which is better?

They differ in style — Jade Buddha Temple is famed for its jade Buddhas, while Jing'an Temple is older. Both are worth a visit.

Can I draw a fortune stick?

Yes, but treat it rationally.

How long does a visit take?

About 1-2 hours.

Read next

Other things to do in Shanghai

Jing'an Temple

Shanghai's oldest and most famous temple, Jing'an Temple, founded in 247 in the Three Kingdoms era; the 50 yuan ticket includes three incense sticks, open 7:30-17:00.

Century Park

Century Park is Pudong's largest green space at 140 hectares — sweeping lawns, flower seasons and open-air music festivals; entry CNY 20.

City God Temple (Chenghuang Temple)

The spiritual heart of old Shanghai, anchoring the Yuyuan Garden bazaar and its sprawling small-commodities market. Temple entry CNY 10.

Sweet Love Road (Tian'ai Road)

Sweet Love Road (Tian'ai Road) is Shanghai's most romantic street — a 300 m tunnel of plane trees and a favorite photo stop.

French Concession

Shanghai's leafy plane-tree quarter, the French Concession of 1849-1943; free to wander, shops about 10:00-20:00, by Jiaotong University or Shanghai Library metro stations.

Nanjing Road Pedestrian Street

China's busiest shopping street in Shanghai, about 1.2 km long with over 100 years of history and roughly 1 million visitors a day; free, malls 10:00-22:00.

Oriental Pearl Tower

The Oriental Pearl Tower is Shanghai's 468 m landmark, with a revolving restaurant and one of the city's best vantage points over the night skyline.

People's Square

Shanghai's central square of about 140,000 sqm, free and open, ringed by the Shanghai Museum, the Grand Theatre and metro lines 1, 2 and 8.

Qibao Ancient Town

Thousand-year-old water town of Song-dynasty origin about 20 km from downtown Shanghai; free entry with a 30-yuan combo ticket, a 15-minute walk from Qibao metro station.

Shanghai Disneyland

The first Disney park on mainland China, open since June 2016 in Pudong, with the tallest Disney castle anywhere (~60 m) and rides you can't get elsewhere like TRON and the redesigned Pirates.

Shanghai Museum

China's top museum of ancient art, about 1.02 million objects in its 1995 People's Square home; free with reservation, 9:00-17:00, closed Mondays, star piece the Da Ke Ding bronze.

Shanghai Tower

Shanghai Tower is China's tallest building at 632 m — second tallest in the world, designed as a dragon-like spiraling form.

The Bund

Shanghai's signature waterfront: 52 historic buildings in every style — the 'Exhibition of World Architecture' — with the best night views in the city.

Shanghai World Financial Center

One of the three Lujiazui skyscrapers, nicknamed 'the bottle opener' for its trapezoid aperture, with an observation deck up on the 100th floor.

Xintiandi

Shikumen renovation district opened in 2001, now a Shanghai fashion landmark; free entry, shops about 10:00 to 02:00, a 5-minute walk from South Huangpi Road station on Metro Lines 1 and 10.

Yu Garden (Yuyuan Garden)

A classical Ming garden in Shanghai first built in 1559 and counted among Jiangnan's four great gardens, covering about 2 hectares; tickets 30-40 yuan, open 8:30-17:30.

Zhujiajiao Ancient Water Town

Zhujiajiao is Shanghai's best-preserved water town, 1,700 years old, with 36 stone bridges and intact Ming-Qing architecture. Free entry (combo ticket CNY 40), 8:30-17:00.

Museums in Shanghai

M50 Art District

A converted 1930s wool-spinning mill on Moganshan Road now hosting 130+ artist studios and galleries; plan 2–3 hours for a real walk-through, not a quick photo stop.

China Art Museum

Modern and contemporary Chinese art in the striking former China Pavilion from Expo 2010. Free entry. Home of the animated digital "Along the River During the Qingming Festival.

China Maritime Museum

Maritime Silk Road, Zheng He's treasure ships, and a full-size Ming Dynasty junk replica inside a sail-shaped building near Dishui Lake. China's national maritime museum. ¥50.

HOW Art Museum

A private contemporary art museum in Pudong with about 3,000 sqm of exhibition space, walkable in 90 minutes if you skip the gift-shop vortex.

Long Museum (Pudong)

Two million RMB and eight years of collecting went into this private art museum in the Pudong riverfront — set aside about 2 hours and arrive before noon.

Long Museum West Bund

Shanghai's largest private art museum, built in a former coal warehouse on the West Bund — 33,000 sqm of modern and contemporary Chinese art including Wang Jianwei.

Power Station of Art

China's first state-run contemporary art museum, set inside a converted 1897 British-built coal-fired power plant on the Huangpu River — admission is free and 2-3 hours covers the main halls.

Rockbund Art Museum

Contemporary art in a striking 1933 Art Deco building on the Bund. ¥50. Rotating exhibitions by Chinese and international artists. The building rivals the art.

Shanghai History Museum

Shanghai's journey from fishing village to 1930s "Paris of the East" — told through artifacts, photographs, and immersive street scenes. Below the Oriental Pearl Tower. Free.

Shanghai Museum

China's best museum for ancient Chinese art — 5 floors of bronzes, jades, ceramics, calligraphy, paintings, coins and Ming-Qing furniture. Free, on People's Square.

Shanghai Natural History Museum

A world-class natural history museum inside Shanghai's famous "Plant-Bulb" building on People's Square — 10 million specimens, evolution galleries.

Shanghai Propaganda Poster Art Centre

Private collection of Mao-era propaganda posters in a basement gallery. ¥20. One of Shanghai's most distinctive small museums. A window into 20th-century Chinese political art.

Shanghai Propaganda Posters

Note: this slug is an alternate reference for the Shanghai Propaganda Poster Art Centre, the ¥20 basement museum of 5,000+ Mao-era posters — see that entry for tickets and hours.

Shanghai Science and Technology Museum

A family-oriented science museum with robot musicians, a walk-through animal world, and Shanghai's best hands-on physics exhibits — budget a full afternoon (4–5 hours). ¥60 adults, ¥30 students.

Shanghai Urban Planning Museum

A 5-floor museum inside Shanghai's municipal government building showing the city's past, present, and future urban planning — the highlight is a 1:500 scale model of Shanghai in 2035. ¥50.

Sources