Mahavira Hall of Zhenru Temple

Most of the traditional buildings in China are wood structures, and are very difficult to preserve. Many people may ask in wonder, which is the oldest building in Shanghai? The answer is: Mahavira Hall of Zhenru Temple.

Located in the Zhenru Temple on Lanxi Road, Putuo District, the Mahavira Hall of Zhenru Temple was built by Monk Miaoxin in the 7th year of Yanyou Period of Yuan Dynasty (1320). It is the only intact hall of the Yuan Dynasty Buddhist temples of such kind in Shanghai, and the oldest existing wood structure in Shanghai. In 1996, it was listed as a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level.

Not large in scale, the hall is located on the axis of Zhenru Temple. The hall is three bays in width and depth, with a square plane. The layout features a Sudoku pattern somewhat like a square, covering an area of 158 square meters. The building was originally a single-eave structure with a gable and hip roof. Through the renovation in the late Qing Dynasty, it was transformed into a five-bay and double-eave structure. In 1963, the hall was restored to its form in the Yuan Dynasty as a single-eave and three-bay structure.

There are 16 shuttle shaped cypress pillars in the hall. Of which, the principal pillars are 6.45 metres high, and the peripheral pillars are 4.28 metres high. The pillars in the central bay slightly lean inward, with the principal ones leaning by 16 centimetres and the peripheral ones by 8 centimetres. Its plane layout is similar to that of the Dragon-Tiger Hall, Yongle Palace, Ruicheng, Shanxi Province. The bracket system is made up of four small brackets set on columns, with the tails slanting out. There are four brackets resting on the beam in the main bay and two on the beams in the side bays. This building shows typical characteristics of Yuan Dynasty architecture, with the thick and sturdy bracket system, simple structure, low rise of the roof, large roof, deep eaves, and flat and generous angles.