Shanghai Exploration: Longhua Pagoda & Botanical Gardens

I travel on line 178 from Xujiahui to the Botanical gardens and Martyr Cemetary in Shanghai.

The Longhua Temple (Chinese: 龙华寺; pinyin: Lónghúa Sì, Shanghainese: Lon-ngu-zy, alternatively Lunghwa Temple; literally "Dragon Flower Temple") is a Buddhist temple dedicated to the Maitreya Buddha in Shanghai. Although most of the present day buildings date from later reconstructions, the temple preserves the architectural design of a Song dynasty (960–1279) monastery of the Chan School. It is the largest, most authentic and complete ancient temple complex in the city of Shanghai.

The temple was first built in 242 AD, during the Three Kingdoms Period (220–280). According to a legend, Sun Quan, King of the Kingdom of Wu (222–280), had obtained Sharira relics, which are cremated remains of the Buddha. To house these precious relics, the king ordered the construction of 13 pagodas. Longhua Pagoda (龍華塔), part of the Longhua temple complex, is said to have been one of them. Like the function of the pagoda, the name of the temple also has its origin in a local legend according to which a dragon once appeared on the site.

J. G. Ballard in his World War II-era autobiographical novel Empire of the Sun describes the Japanese military use of the Longhua pagoda as a flak cannon tower. In Steven Spielberg's film adaptation of the book, the pagoda is clearly visible above the prison camp.

The temple grounds have been used as a site for internment as well as for executions. Public executions were held on the site in the 20th century. In 1927, the Kuomintang (國民黨） carried out a purge of suspected communists in Shanghai. Thousands of victims of this purge were brought to the temple grounds to be executed. They are commemorated today by the Longhua Martyrs Cemetery behind the temple. During the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Japanese operated their largest civilian internment camp in the area, where American, British, as well as nationals of other allied countries were held under poor...