An absolute marvel of architecture the LuoHan temple features a room with 500 clay figures representing 500 LuoHan or Arhat ( Arahat), a perfected person who has reached nirvana and freed himself from the bounds of desire and temptation. These 500 clay figures are unique and must see. It is forbidden to take pictures inside the room, so cannot share any here. Luohan temple is located near the touristic center of Chongqing on Yuzhong peninsula, near Guotai Arts Center which features a unique architecture. Around the temple, besides the common shops, there is a little street named Miracle street; there I found a lovely shop offering very special gift items, strong Chongqing and Chinese culture identity very nicely packaged and wrapped. Owner Linda is a beautiful and friendly lady!

Beautiful old Temple, we heard it has been only opened to the public not long ago. Beautiful architecture, that special "secret" room with the 500 statues is quite amazing. Not that the clay figures are particularly pretty from a pure aesthetic point of view, despite our extensive experience, we'd never seen anything like that!

Though really pretty and grand, this temple feels overly commercialized as it charges hefty fees for almost everything - including entrance. Joss sticks and those mini-candles are extra. It is almost therefore more a tourist attraction than a place that reflects the essence of Buddhism, or a place for serious Buddhists to worship at. However, one good thing perhaps is that the temple grounds are made widely accessible and there even appeared to be guests touring the upper floors.