Kaiyuan Temple and twin pagodas

Kaiyuan Temple occupies a large compound on West Street in the Licheng District of Quanzhou, Fujian. Tradition says it was founded in 686 during the Tang dynasty and took its current name, meaning 'Opening of the Yuan' era, in 738. Its two granite pagodas stand in the western courtyard: the Zhenguo Pagoda to the east, first built in wood in 865 and rebuilt in stone between 1228 and 1237, reaching about 48 metres, and the Renshou Pagoda to the west, completed in 1237 at about 44 metres. They are the tallest pair of stone pagodas in China, built as octagonal five-storey towers imitating timber construction, with relief carvings of Buddhist guardians and arhats on their faces. The main hall, the Mahavira Hall, dates from the Ming dynasty and is known as the Hundred-Pillar Hall for its numerous stone columns; its rear gallery holds carved Hindu-style figures of mythic birds from a vanished Quanzhou Hindu temple, reflecting the city's multicultural port past. Other features include the Ganlu Jie Altar, a Song-era ordination platform, a Ming bronze Buddha, and the Hall of Eastern and Western Pagodas. Kaiyuan is still an active monastery, so the atmosphere is that of a living temple with incense and chanting rather than a museum. Interpretation is by signboards and some bilingual labels, and visitors move through the compound in a loosely processional route from the gate to the main hall and then the pagodas. The pagodas were strengthened after earthquakes and have been repeatedly repaired, with the most recent work stabilising the stonework. The temple is a national key cultural site.