Beijing Road
Guangzhou, China
Dafo Temple, Guangzhou
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Photo: Huangdan2060, CC0, Wikimedia CommonsFit in nearby today
The essentials in 10 seconds
- Entry
- Free, no booking needed
- Opening hours
- Daily ≈ 7:30–21:30, last entry 21:00; sources differ
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From reliable travel sources; we are still checking it against an official one. Double-check before you go. - Time on site
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A typical visit without queueing. In high season add 15–30 minutes. - 30 min
- With kids
- Fine with kids
- Night lighting
- From about 19:00 until closing
verifyingi
From reliable travel sources; we are still checking it against an official one. Double-check before you go. - Address
- 21 Huixin Middle Street, off Huifu East Road (惠福东路惠新中街21号), Yuexiu District
- Metro
- Beijing Lu (Line 6), Exit B, ≈ 5 min walk; Gongyuanqian (Lines 1 and 2), Exit D, ≈ 8 min
verifyingi
From reliable travel sources; we are still checking it against an official one. Double-check before you go. - Time needed
- 30–40 minutes; up to two hours with the library and lunch
- Photos
- Fine in the courtyard; not of the statues in the main hall
verifyingi
From reliable travel sources; we are still checking it against an official one. Double-check before you go. - Dress
- Cover shoulders and knees — it's a working temple
Key facts
917–971founded under the Southern Han dynasty, then called Xinzang Temple
2 sourcesi
English and Chinese WikipediaGuangzhou government portal gz.gov.cn6 m, 10 theight and weight of each of the three bronze Buddhas in the main hall
2 sourcesi
Guangzhou government portal gz.gov.cnEnglish and Chinese Wikipedia1663rebuilt by the governor Shang Kexi — and renamed after its great Buddhas
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Guangzhou government portal gz.gov.cnEnglish and Chinese Wikipedia1993listed as a protected heritage site of Guangzhou (9 August)
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English and Chinese Wikipedia1839Lin Zexu ran his opium-confiscation bureau from the temple
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English and Chinese Wikipedia1 of 5of the 'Five Great Temples' of old Guangzhou
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English and Chinese Wikipedia4 namesXinzang, Futian'an, Longzang and finally Dafo Temple
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English and Chinese WikipediaChinatripedia1986reopened to visitors
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English and Chinese Wikipedia2000a free public Buddhist library opened at the temple
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Chinese WikipediaOur China Story2010expansion began — the origin of the new golden-roofed halls
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Chinese WikipediaOur China StoryDafo Temple opening hours and entry fee
Entry is free and there's nothing to book — Trip.com, ETripChina, Chinatripedia and Chinese Wikipedia all agree. One English-language guide mentions a ¥20 ticket, but we found nothing to back it up. You only spend money if you want to: on donations, oil lamps or a vegetarian meal. The donation boxes take QR-code payments.
Hours are less clear-cut. Trip.com lists 7:30–21:30 with last entry at 21:00, ETripChina says 8:00–21:00, Chinatripedia gives a 6:00 opening, and older Chinese listings say 8:00–18:00. We show Trip.com's as the most recent. Come before 9:00 for quiet, or after 19:00 for the lights. On the 1st and 15th of the lunar month and at Buddhist festivals the courtyard fills with worshippers.
Payment: Alipay or WeChat Pay linked to a foreign card works almost everywhere in China, including for donations. Carry a few small yuan notes as a back-up; change isn't always available.
What is Dafo Temple?
Dafo Si (大佛寺), the 'Grand Buddha Temple', is a working Chan (Zen) Buddhist monastery in the heart of old Guangzhou, in Yuexiu District. It's also signed as Dafo Gu Si, the 'Ancient Grand Buddha Temple'. Monks live here, locals come to pray, and incense burns in the courtyard all day — this is a place of worship first and a sight second.
Its story starts in the 10th century, when Liu Yan, emperor of the Southern Han, built 28 temples around his capital to match the 28 lunar mansions. One of them, Xinzang Temple, is the ancestor of today's Dafo. It was later called Futian'an and, under the Ming, Longzang Temple.
Destroyed in the wars of the mid-17th century, it was rebuilt in 1663 with money from the governor Shang Kexi and timber donated by a Vietnamese ruler. Three bronze Buddhas, each 6 m tall and 10 tonnes, were placed in the main hall — the largest in the region at the time — and gave the temple its name. It later ranked among the 'Five Great Temples' of Guangzhou.
Our take: this is the easiest temple in Guangzhou to fit in. It's free, open late and steps from Beijing Road, so you don't need to plan for it — just turn off the main street.
How to get to Dafo Temple
Tap a route to highlight it on the map.
Where are you starting from?
We’ll draw it on the map on foot and by taxi; metro and buses open in your maps app. Your location isn’t stored.
On foot
- Beijing Road is about 4 min away on foot.
- Pearl River is about 22 min away on foot.
- Temple of the Six Banyan Trees is about 19 min away on foot.
More tips
- From Beijing Road, walk. The temple sits in Huixin Middle Street (惠新中街), a lane off Huifu East Road (惠福东路), a couple of minutes from the pedestrian zone. Look for the golden roofs above the houses.
- By metro, the closest station is Beijing Lu (北京路) on Line 6. Guides say it's about 350 m north from Exit B — around five minutes on foot.
- From Gongyuanqian (公园前), Lines 1 and 2, use Exit D and walk south for about eight minutes. Exit numbers come from guides and Trip.com; check the station map.
- From Baiyun Airport, take Line 3 from Airport North (Terminal 2) to Tiyu Xilu and change to Line 1 for Gongyuanqian. Terminal 1 and Airport South station are currently closed for renovation.
- By taxi or DiDi, show 大佛寺, 惠新中街. Cars rarely drive into the lane, so you'll be dropped on Huifu East Road. Unofficially, the nearest bus stop is Danan Lu (大南路), about 150 m away.
- Paying for the metro: contactless foreign Visa or Mastercard cards work at marked gates (unofficial), or use the Guangzhou Metro QR code in Alipay with a linked foreign card.
What to see at Dafo Temple
- The Mahavira Hall (大雄宝殿) — the oldest building, still on its Qing-dynasty plan. Inside are the three bronze Buddhas: Shakyamuni in the centre, Amitabha and Maitreya either side — the Buddhas of past, present and future.
- The beams and pillars — said to be from the timber sent by the ruler of Annam in the 1660s. Look up: the beams are massive and have held for nearly three and a half centuries.
- The new golden-roofed halls — multi-storey buildings added after 2010. They're what you see from the surrounding streets, and what glows at night.
- The incense courtyard — locals light incense and bow in each direction. Sit for a few minutes; in the middle of a shopping district it's surprisingly peaceful.
- The Buddhist library — open to everyone free of charge since 2000. Most books are in Chinese, but the reading room is a calm, rarely visited corner.
- The night lighting — from roughly 19:00 until closing, according to guides. The best time for photos from outside.
Is Dafo Temple worth visiting?
Yes, if you're on Beijing Road anyway. It's free, right there and open in the evening. In half an hour you get a working Cantonese temple, a 17th-century hall with huge bronze Buddhas and golden roofs lit up at night — a real change of pace five minutes from the shops.
It's not worth crossing the city for. The temple is compact and hemmed in by buildings, the courtyard is small, and the striking golden halls are modern rather than ancient. If you've seen the big monasteries of Beijing or Shanghai, Dafo will feel modest. For quieter old Guangzhou, choose the Chen Clan Academy or the Temple of the Six Banyan Trees.
Dafo Temple at night
Evening is when Dafo looks its best. Around 19:00 the golden roofs of the new halls light up above the lane, with red lanterns below and the dark old roof of the main hall in front. Stand back in the lane or by the entrance to fit the halls into one frame; blue hour, just after the lights come on, gives the best colours.
Inside the halls, put the phone away — even a quiet shutter distracts people praying. Then walk on to Huifu East Road for Cantonese snacks, or down to the river for a cruise.
The bronze Buddhas: where are the originals?
The three Buddhas you see aren't the ones cast in the 1660s. According to Chinese Wikipedia, the originals were removed from the temple in the 1960s, later restored and moved to the Temple of the Six Banyan Trees, and Dafo received new statues cast after the old ones. English Wikipedia tells the story differently, so treat this as unconfirmed.
For a visit it changes little: the statues look the same and the hall itself is genuinely 17th-century. If authenticity matters to you, the Six Banyan Trees temple is close by in the same old centre.
Dafo Temple and Beijing Road: how to combine them
| Dafo Templeyou are here | A working Buddhist temple | Free | ≈ 7:30–21:30 (unofficial) | Beijing Lu (6), Gongyuanqian (1, 2) | 30–40 minutes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beijing Road | Pedestrian shopping street with an ancient road under glass | Free, 24 hours | Shops ≈ 10:00–22:00 | Gongyuanqian (1, 2), Beijing Lu (6) | ≈ 1 hour |
Beijing Road details are from its YesGo page. Easy order: the street and its excavations in daylight, the temple at 19:00 for the lights, then dinner on Huifu East Road.
Before you go
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Temples in Guangzhou compared
Every Guangzhou place of worship YesGo has scored. Tap a column heading to sort.
| Dafo Templeyou are here | 45 | 30 min | Free | — |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shamian Island | 43 | 1 h 30 min | Free | 2.9 km |
| Temple of the Six Banyan Trees | 38 | 30 min | Free | 18 min walk |
Old Guangzhou in a day: academy, temple, Beijing Road and river
The Chen Clan Academy by day, Dafo Temple under its lights and dinner around Beijing Road in the evening, then a Pearl River cruise. Add it to your route and YesGo will work out the timings and transfers.
- Chen Clan Academy1 h · ¥10
- 41 min walk from the previous stopDafo Templeyou are here30 min · Free
- 3 min walk from the previous stopBeijing Road1 h · Free
- 16 min walk from the previous stopPearl River1 h 30 min · ≈ ¥90–220 boat; riverside free
4 places · about 5 h with walks · 60 min on foot in total
Nearby and on your route
Pearl River
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Temple of the Six Banyan Trees
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Yuexiu Park
Guangzhou, China
How to do it right
- Arrive around 19:00: see the main hall in the last daylight and walk out just as the lights come on.
- Guides say three sticks of incense are handed out free at the main hall — no need to buy any from shops outside (unofficial).
- On the 1st and 15th of the lunar month the courtyard is busy with worshippers; move slowly and keep clear of the incense burners.
- The temple has a vegetarian restaurant; prices and format change, so ask on the spot.
- Huifu East Road, a couple of minutes away, is lined with Cantonese snack shops and dessert places.
- Keep your bag in front of you — the lanes around Beijing Road get packed in the evening.
Questions
What are Dafo Temple's opening hours?
Unofficially, daily from about 7:30 to 21:30, with last entry at 21:00. Sources differ, but most agree it's open in the evening.
Is Dafo Temple free?
Yes. There's no ticket and no booking. You only pay if you want to donate, light a lamp or eat at the vegetarian restaurant.
How do I get to Dafo Temple by metro?
Take Line 6 to Beijing Lu, use Exit B and walk about five minutes north; or Lines 1 or 2 to Gongyuanqian, Exit D, about eight minutes south.
Is Dafo Temple worth visiting?
If you're on Beijing Road, definitely — it's free, close and lovely when lit up. It's not worth a special trip across the city.
When is Dafo Temple lit up?
From around 19:00 until closing. That's the best time for photos of the golden roofs.
Can you take photos inside Dafo Temple?
In the courtyard and from outside, yes. Guides say the Buddhas in the main hall shouldn't be photographed; don't photograph monks or worshippers without asking.
How long do you need at Dafo Temple?
30–40 minutes for the courtyard and main hall; up to two hours with the library, night photos and a vegetarian meal.
Is there a dress code?
No formal one, but cover shoulders and knees — it's a working monastery.
Why is it called the Grand Buddha Temple?
Since the 1660s its main hall has held three bronze Buddhas, each 6 m tall and 10 tonnes. According to Chinese Wikipedia, today's statues are recasts of the originals.
Have you been? Was it worth your time?
1 — no, 5 — absolutely
Your vote counts towards the YesGo score.
Sources and fact-check
- English and Chinese Wikipedia — 'Dafo Temple (Guangzhou)', '大佛寺 (广州)': history, names, statues, heritage status, library, expansion
- Guangzhou government portal gz.gov.cn, municipal religious affairs bureau page (6 Sep 2021) — address, founding, 1663 rebuild, statues
- Our China Story (28 May 2022) — expansion from 2010, golden copper roofs, free library
- Trip.com temple listing — hours, entry, time needed, metro exits (unofficial)
- ETripChina (11 May 2024) — hours, lighting, incense, donations, vegetarian restaurant (unofficial)
- Chinatripedia — hours, entry, Beijing Lu station, Exit B, about 350 m (unofficial)
- Qunar — Danan Lu bus stop, Gongyuanqian Exit D (unofficial)
- Wanderin China — Guangzhou metro guide: foreign cards at the gates, Alipay QR (8 Sep 2026)
- Wikidata — coordinates of the temple and metro stations, used for walking distances
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