The shrines and statues in the stone halls of the Jijian Temple are located in Tianchi Mountain of Wuzhong District, Suzhou. They were listed as listed as a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level by the State Council of China in 2006.
The Jijian Temple is oval shaped in plane with barnacles all around as walls. The entrance is in the south of the temple and was rebuilt in 1980. In front of the entrance, there are two stone halls in the east and west respectively, namely Tushita Palace and Pure Land. In each stone house there is a statue of Buddha carved from a whole piece of rock. In the eastern house there is a Maitreya statue of Buddha, while in the western house is a Amitabha statue. Each statue is 3.25 high, with rough lines, large ears and square faces, which is the style of Yuan Dynasty. On the eastern wall of the western stone house, there are stone carvings showing the building year and the first names of all the donors.
The stone halls of the temple face south, which are convex shaped in plane with a gable and hip roof and single eave. Till now, there is no Buddha statue remained in the halls except for shrines and desks. They are made of stone and carved as Sumeru seat shapes with various styles. There are beautiful lotus images which are carved on the waist part of the stone desk, in the central bay and on the arm’s bowl in the front of the hall. All of these are important materials for the study of buildings and sculpture of the Yuan Dynasty. In addition, there are other buildings in the temple like Weituo hall, land boat and monk’s cells. These buildings are built around the mountain irregularly, making the temple more charming.
