Chilly Hill Temple

Located at Fengqiao Town five kilometers west of Suzhou, Chilly Hill Temple,more popularly referred to as Hanshan Temple, was built during the period from502 to 519. It got the name because a monk named Hanshan once served as abbot here in the Tang Dynasty. Buildings to visit within the temple include Grand Hall, Sutra Storage Tower (Cangjinglou), Bell Tower (Zhonglou), Maple River Tower (Fengjianglou), and Steles Corridor (Beilang). The temple became well known after the Tang poet Zhang Ji wrote a famous poem while on board that was passing by the temple, two lines of which read: “Outside the Suzhou wall, from Hanshan Temple’s bell, I hear its sound aboard the boat and feel its midnight spell.”

Chilly Hill Temple