# Wenshu Monastery, Chengdu > Wenshu Monastery is Chengdu's best-known working Buddhist monastery, about 3 km north of Tianfu Square. Entry is free, and it's open daily 8:00–17:00 with last entry at 16:30 (unofficial). Inside are a shady tea house and a vegetarian restaurant. Allow an hour, or two with tea or lunch. Metro: Line 1 to Wenshu Monastery. Web page: https://yesgo.io/china/chengdu/wenshu-monastery - City: [Chengdu](https://yesgo.io/china/chengdu), China - YesGo score: 40/100 (Yes, if nearby) - Time on site: 1 h - Entry: Free - With kids: Fine with kids - Admission: Free — no ticket, booking or passport needed - Hours: Daily 8:00–17:00, last entry 16:30; some guides say until 18:00 - Closed: No weekly closing day - Incense: One free stick at the gate - Tea house: In a courtyard inside the monastery; tea is paid - Vegetarian restaurant: In the Xiang Yuan garden (香园): buffet and hot pot downstairs, à la carte upstairs - Metro: Line 1, Wenshu Monastery station (文殊院), Exit K, 5–8 minutes' walk - Payment: Alipay or WeChat Pay with a linked foreign card, or cash in yuan - Address: 66 Wenshuyuan Street, Qingyang District (文殊院街66号) - Time needed: About an hour; two with tea and lunch - Dress: Shoulders and knees covered — it's a working monastery - Coordinates: 30.68133, 104.07899 - Facts checked: 04.11.2026 ## Key facts - **1697** — rebuilding began on the site of a burnt-out temple; the work ran until 1706 (source: English and Chinese Wikipedia; Chinatripedia) - **1983** — named a National Key Buddhist Temple in Han Chinese areas by the State Council (source: English and Chinese Wikipedia; Wikidata) - **Xuanzang** — a fragment of the pilgrim monk's skull is the monastery's most famous relic (source: English Wikipedia; TravelChinaGuide; China Travel) - **605–617** — Daye era of the Sui dynasty, when Xinxiang Temple was founded here per Wikipedia; other sources say the Tang (source: English and Chinese Wikipedia; TravelChinaGuide) - **1681** — the monk Cidu settled here; the name Wenshu (Manjushri) is tied to his story (source: English Wikipedia; TravelChinaGuide; China Travel) - **1702** — the Kangxi Emperor granted the plaque “Konglin” — “Empty Forest” (source: Chinese Wikipedia; Chinatripedia) - **5 halls** — on the main south–north axis, from the Heavenly Kings Hall to the sutra library (source: English Wikipedia; China Travel) - **1829** — the bronze Shakyamuni and two disciples in the Mahavira Hall were cast (source: English Wikipedia; Chinatripedia) - **≈ 300** — Buddha statues in iron, bronze, stone, wood and jade (source: TravelChinaGuide; China Travel) - **2 firs** — survived the late-Ming fire, along with ten iron statues (source: English and Chinese Wikipedia) - **1980** — listed as a protected heritage site of Sichuan Province (source: Chinese Wikipedia; Wikidata) - **≈ 2.8 km** — in a straight line from the monastery to Tianfu Square (source: Wikidata coordinates) ## Is Wenshu Monastery free? Admission and opening hours Yes — **entry is free**, with no ticket, booking or passport check, according to Trip.com, TravelChinaGuide (updated July 2026) and other current guides. A few older guides still quote ¥5; that's out of date. You'll only spend money on tea, lunch and any extra incense — one stick is handed out free at the gate. Trip.com lists the monastery as open **every day, 8:00–17:00**, with last entry at 16:30, and TravelChinaGuide and Chinatripedia also give 8:00–17:00. Some English-language guides say it closes at 18:00, and older ones give a 9:00 start. We couldn't open an official page, so treat these hours as unofficial and aim to arrive before 16:00. There's no weekly closing day, so it's a safe choice for a Monday. Buddhist festivals and Chinese New Year bring big crowds of worshippers. The tea house and restaurant keep their own hours — some listings have them closing around 17:00 with the monastery, while others have the restaurant open into the evening. > **Paying for tea and lunch** Entry costs nothing, but the tea house and restaurant expect payment. The easy way for foreign visitors is **Alipay or WeChat Pay with a linked international Visa or Mastercard**; cash in yuan is legal tender, though change can be short, so carry small notes. Set up Alipay before you fly — QR payments also need mobile data. ## How to get to Wenshu Monastery 1. From Tianfu Square, take **Line 1** northbound (towards North Railway Station). 2. Ride two stops — **Luomashi**, then **Wenshu Monastery** (文殊院) — about 5 minutes. 3. Leave by **Exit K** and follow the signs to Wenshuyuan Street: 5–8 minutes, roughly 400–500 m through the Wenshufang lanes. 4. The entrance is at the **south gate** on Wenshuyuan Street. Allow about 20 minutes door to door from Tianfu Square. 5. From Tianfu Airport (TFU): **Line 18** to Chengdu South Railway Station, then **Line 1** north all the way to Wenshu Monastery, about 1 hour 20 minutes. 6. From Shuangliu Airport (CTU): **Line 10** to Taipingyuan, **Line 3** north to Sichuan Gymnasium, then **Line 1** north to Wenshu Monastery — about an hour. 7. By taxi or DiDi, show the driver 文殊院. DiDi runs in English inside Alipay and charges your linked foreign card. ## The Wenshu Monastery tea house If you do one thing here, sit down for tea. The monastery's tea house is one of Chengdu's best known: bamboo chairs under old trees, tea served in a **gaiwan** (a lidded cup), and an attendant who keeps topping up the hot water for as long as you stay. Locals come to read, chat and play cards; it's the city's famous teahouse culture in its most relaxed form. Tea is paid. We found no official price list, so budget a few tens of yuan per cup — more than in a neighbourhood park teahouse. Classic choices are jasmine tea and local Sichuan green teas. Go mid-morning on a weekday if you want a seat in the shade; at weekend lunchtimes the courtyard fills up. ## Vegetarian restaurant at Wenshu Monastery The monastery's **vegetarian restaurant** is in the Xiang Yuan garden (香园) inside the grounds. According to unofficial listings, the ground floor runs a buffet and a hot pot, and upstairs serves à la carte dishes such as mapo tofu, noodles and mock-meat kung pao “chicken”. It's Buddhist cooking: no meat, no onion and no garlic. Hot pot is around ¥50 a head (unofficial). There's a picture menu, and some staff speak a little English. Sichuan heat still applies — say “bu la” (不辣, not spicy) if you'd rather avoid it. Come around noon: the restaurant's opening hours vary between sources, and it's the easiest lunch in this part of town. ## Is Wenshu Monastery worth visiting? Yes, especially if you want to see **living Buddhism** rather than a museum. Monks, worshippers bowing with incense, Qing-dynasty halls under grey tiles and a busy tea garden make it the most atmospheric free sight in central Chengdu, and it's two metro stops from Tianfu Square. It's less essential if you've already seen the big monasteries of Beijing or Tibet — the halls are modest by comparison. In that case give it 30 minutes plus tea. Otherwise allow **about an hour** for the halls and gardens, and two with tea and lunch. It pairs naturally with [Kuanzhai Alley](https://yesgo.io/china/chengdu/kuanzhai-alley) for a half day in the north of the centre. ## What to see at Wenshu Monastery - **Heavenly Kings Hall** — the first hall: a laughing Maitreya, the guardian Skanda (Weituo) behind him and the Four Heavenly Kings. - **Hall of the Three Western Sages** — Amitabha with the bodhisattvas Guanyin and Mahasthamaprapta. - **Mahavira Hall** — about 10.5 m tall, with a bronze Shakyamuni and two disciples cast in 1829. - **Dharma Hall** — the Medicine Buddha flanked by the Twelve Heavenly Generals. - **Sutra library** — the last hall on the axis, home to relics, old sutras and calligraphy; not every treasure is on show every day. - **Thousand Buddha Peace Pagoda** (千佛和平塔) — a tiered pagoda covered in small Buddha figures and the monastery's most photographed outline. - **Side gardens and ponds** — fish, turtles and old trees, much quieter than the main axis. - **The tea courtyard** — bamboo chairs, gaiwan tea and locals settling in for the afternoon. > **Dress code and etiquette** There is no formal dress code, but this is an active monastery: cover shoulders and knees. Keep your voice down, don't touch the statues, walk around the halls clockwise and step over the high thresholds rather than on them. Burn incense at the courtyard burners, never inside. Watch for no-photo signs at the altars, and don't photograph monks without asking. ## A short history A temple called **Xinxiang** stood here by the early 7th century — the Sui dynasty's Daye era (605–617), according to Wikipedia, though TravelChinaGuide and others date it to the Tang. It burned down at the end of the Ming dynasty; only ten iron statues and two ancient fir trees are said to have survived. In 1681 the ascetic monk **Cidu** settled among the ruins. Legend says that when he was cremated, an image of the bodhisattva Wenshu (Manjushri) appeared in the flames, giving the monastery its name. It was rebuilt from 1697 to 1706, and in 1702 the Kangxi Emperor granted it the plaque “Konglin” (Empty Forest). Abbot Benyuan expanded it in the 19th century. In the 20th century it received a Buddha relic from Bodh Gaya and a fragment of Xuanzang's skull from Nanjing. It became a Sichuan heritage site in 1980 and a National Key Buddhist Temple in 1983. ## Before you go: checklist - [ ] I'll arrive before 16:30 — last entry - [ ] Shoulders and knees covered - [ ] Alipay or WeChat Pay with my foreign card, or small yuan notes, for tea and lunch - [ ] 文殊院 saved to show a taxi driver - [ ] Offline map of Chengdu downloaded - [ ] At least 30 minutes kept free for tea ## Chengdu’s temples compared Every temple and shrine in Chengdu rated by YesGo. - [Wenshu Monastery](https://yesgo.io/china/chengdu/wenshu-monastery) — YesGo score 40/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Free - [Wuhou Shrine](https://yesgo.io/china/chengdu/wuhou-shrine) — YesGo score 35/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 30 min · ¥50; ages 6–18 ¥25 - [Leshan Giant Buddha](https://yesgo.io/china/chengdu/leshan-giant-buddha) — YesGo score 30/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 4 h · ¥80; river boat ¥70 extra - [Mount Qingcheng](https://yesgo.io/china/chengdu/mount-qingcheng) — YesGo score 16/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 4 h · ¥80; cable car ¥35–60 extra ## Monastery, alleys and the square in half a day Wenshu Monastery and tea in the morning, then Kuanzhai Alley, Tianfu Square and an evening on Chunxi Road. Add them to your route — YesGo fits in the timing and transfers. 1. [Wenshu Monastery](https://yesgo.io/china/chengdu/wenshu-monastery) — YesGo score 40/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Free 2. [Kuanzhai Alley](https://yesgo.io/china/chengdu/kuanzhai-alley) — YesGo score 42/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Free 3. [Tianfu Square](https://yesgo.io/china/chengdu/tianfu-square) — YesGo score 45/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 20 min · Free 4. [Chunxi Road](https://yesgo.io/china/chengdu/chunxi-road) — YesGo score 42/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Free > **Go early** At eight or nine in the morning the courtyards are calm, the first worshippers arrive with incense, and the smoke hangs in the low sun. By lunchtime, especially at weekends, a free chair in the tea house is hard to find. See the halls first and save tea for last — the vegetarian restaurant is right next to it. ## Good to know Wenshu is the Chinese name of the bodhisattva Manjushri, so there are Wenshu halls and temples all over China, and namesakes in Japan. This page is about Wenshu Monastery on Wenshuyuan Street in Chengdu. The Wenshufang lanes around it are a shopping street built in old style, not part of the monastery; beads and charms sold there are mostly souvenirs. ## Tips - Entry is free — ignore anyone selling “tickets” or paid fortune-telling at the gate. - Walk the axis from south to north, from the Heavenly Kings Hall to the sutra library. - Take the free incense stick at the entrance; there's no need to buy your own. - Give the tea house at least half an hour — it's the most Chengdu thing you can do here. - Come for lunch around noon: restaurant hours vary between sources. - Afterwards, head on to Kuanzhai Alley or ride Line 1 back to [Tianfu Square](https://yesgo.io/china/chengdu/tianfu-square). - Keep 文殊院 on your phone — few taxi drivers speak English. ## Questions ### Is Wenshu Monastery free? Yes. Entry is free with no ticket or booking. You only pay for tea, food and any extra incense. ### What are Wenshu Monastery's opening hours? Daily 8:00–17:00, last entry 16:30 — unofficial figures; some guides say it closes at 18:00. ### How do I get to Wenshu Monastery? Metro Line 1 to Wenshu Monastery station, Exit K, then a 5–8-minute walk. It's two stops north of Tianfu Square. ### Is there a tea house at Wenshu Monastery? Yes, a large courtyard tea house with bamboo chairs and gaiwan tea. Tea is paid; budget a few tens of yuan. ### Does Wenshu Monastery have a vegetarian restaurant? Yes, in the Xiang Yuan garden inside the grounds: buffet and hot pot downstairs, à la carte upstairs, no meat, onion or garlic. ### How long do you need at Wenshu Monastery? About an hour for the halls and gardens; two hours with tea and lunch. ### Is Wenshu Monastery open on Mondays? Yes, it has no weekly closing day. ### Is there a dress code? No formal one, but cover shoulders and knees — it's a working monastery. ### Can I pay with a foreign card? Not directly at most counters. Link your Visa or Mastercard to Alipay or WeChat Pay, or bring cash in yuan. ### What is the Xuanzang relic? A fragment of the skull of Xuanzang, the 7th-century monk who travelled to India; it came to Wenshu from Nanjing in the 20th century. ## How we checked The monastery's official site, konglin.net (listed on Wikidata and Wikipedia), refused the connection, and Trip.com/Ctrip pages block automated access — we saw their data only in search excerpts. So admission, hours, incense, the tea house, the restaurant and the metro exit are marked checking. Free entry is given by Trip.com, TravelChinaGuide (July 2026), Chinatripedia and other current guides; China Travel (2021) and an old Bendibao page give ¥5, which we treat as outdated. Hours: Trip.com, TravelChinaGuide and Chinatripedia give 8:00–17:00 (Trip.com adds last entry 16:30), some English guides 18:00 and older ones a 9:00 start; we show the first. Founding: Wikipedia says Sui (605–617), TravelChinaGuide and China Travel say Tang; we show both. Sources disagree on the area (over 20,000 vs over 200,000 m²), so we leave it out, and we couldn't confirm the pagoda's height or date from two sources. The ¥50 hot pot comes from HappyCow and Chinatripedia; restaurant hours vary. Line 1 stations come from English Wikipedia and the distance to Tianfu Square from Wikidata coordinates. The English core comes from search results and related questions. ## Sources - English Wikipedia: Wenshu Temple (Chengdu) — history, halls, relics; Line 1 (Chengdu Metro) — station order - Chinese Wikipedia: 文殊院 — address, names, 1697 and 1702, provincial listing 1980, Wenshufang - Wikidata Q11080015 — coordinates, heritage designations - TravelChinaGuide, Wenshu Monastery (updated 24 Jul 2026): free entry, 8:00–17:00, relics, about 300 statues - Trip.com / Ctrip listing (seen in search excerpts): 8:00–17:00, last entry 16:30, free, Exit K - Chinatripedia, Wenshu Yuan Monastery: free entry, 8:00–17:00, restaurant, history dates - China Travel, Wenshu Monastery (2021): halls and relics; its ¥5 fee is out of date - Wild Great Wall (3 Jan 2026): Exit K, free incense, tea house, pagoda; HappyCow — vegetarian restaurant in the Xiang Yuan garden - YesGo's China and Chengdu notes: airport metro routes, DiDi, paying with foreign cards --- This is the Markdown version of a YesGo page for AI assistants. Quote the web page link above, not this file.