See the beautiful Buddhist Temple at the Wenshu Monastery.

This Buddhist Temple is set within splendid gardens containing examples of religious Chinese architecture as well as a superb vegetarian restaurant.

I was quite surprised to find such a beautiful and spiritual place in China.

It was the first temple I explored in depth in China. After that I found many other temples, statues, and artifacts at places near Chengdu.

Such places included Leshan, Qingcheng Mountain and Dujiangyan to have wonderful examples of Chinese religious architecture.

Also Emei Mountain is particularly famous as one of the special Buddhist Mountains in China. It is World Heritage Listed.

The Buddhist Temple located inside a monastery is a fascinating place and open to the public.

It is located in central Chengdu. It is about a 10 minute taxi ride from Zongfu Road – the central shopping area.

There is also a wonderful vegetarian restaurant inside the monastery.

Not only is it a temple but also there is a large area of beautiful landscaped gardens, buildings and monuments set within four walls.

The landscaped gardens within the Wenshu Monastery are very beautiful and serene.

They are well maintained and clean.

There are a lot of trees and shrubs as well as water features. The Chinese seem to like water in their landscapes - it adds to the serenity of the place.

Outside the Wenshu monastery is a great shopping area for tourists. There are beautiful examples of Chinese architecture with lots of small shops to buy clothes, gifts and souvenirs.

This area is very clean and spaciously laid out. You can walk around without being jostled by hordes of people.

There are many small shops here selling all types of Chinese clothes, silk, leather bags and belts, jewellery, wooden combs, and other accessories.

There are restaurants and a bar as well.

I enjoyed shopping there. Easy to get around and not too many people. Visit the temple and do some shopping as well!

And of course you can get a nice Western Beer as well. Note the Budweiser Advertising amongst the beautiful Chinese architecture.

I found it quite amusing that in several places where there were nice Chinese style buildings and shops, there was the presence of Western icons.

The Wenshu Monastery shopping area was no different.

Starbucks seemed to have a presence in such areas like Jinli Street.

Here it was Budweiser. Probably keeps Western tourists happy!

East meets West!