The Guihua Temple

It is named the Gedansonzan Forest Monastery in Tibetan. It is located at the foot of the Foping Mountains, 5km north of Zhongdian and occupies an area of 500mu (about 33·3hectares). The monastery is the largest Tibetan Buddhist Temple in Yunnan Province, and also one of the famous monasteries in the Tibetan area. It has now over 200 Buddhist monks. The Guihua Temple was built in 1679 under Emperor Kang Xi's authorization after the fifth Dalai Lama sent a report to him, who named the temple "Gedansongzan-Forest Monastery”. Emperor Kang Xi granted it the name "Guihua Temple", and his brother He Shuoguo bestowed a horizontal board inscribed with the words “Ci Yun Guang Fu”. The temple was made after the Potala Palace in Lhasa; hence it has another name "Small Potala Palace". The temple occupies an area of about 500 mu, and there are hundreds of small houses for Buddhist at the top in the center, there are 8 wing buildings around them. One main temple has 108 pillars in its main hall, which can hold 1,600 monks sitting and chanting scriptures. In the monastery there are also many treasure and priceless historical relics , including bronze statues of the Fifth Dalai Lama , the Seventh Dalai Lama, Maitreya , eight gold-covered statues of Sakyamuni, Buddhist scriptures on pattra leaves and so on . Compared with other Chinese Buddhist temples, the Tibetan Buddhist Temples are invested with an air of mystery, so in the Tibetan area the temples are grand but somewhat gloomy inside, with streamers hanging down, and the pillars decorated with colorful carpets. All of this reveals a sense of mystery.

　　In the summer of 1936, when He long led the Second Route Red Army to march through Zhongdian, He Long and Xiao Ke went to the Gaihua Temple and visited the living Buddha and Lamas , and presented as a gift a silk flag with the words "Xing Sheng Bo Zu"( May the Tibetans be prosperous) . The monks of the Guihua Temple raised food and grains and acted as guides for the Red Army soldiers, which was important for the army's success.