West Bund Art Center

Another art museum.

One of the city's less-visited temples for foreign visitors, but an important one and one of the most popular for Shanghai residents during religious festivals. It is one of the largest ancient Buddhist temples in Shanghai. The first temple was built in 247 CE, but it was destroyed and rebuilt under the Song dynasty, 977 CE, and several times since then. It is a temple of the Ch'an sect of Buddhism, better known in the West by the Japanese name Zen. Longhua Pagoda, in front of the temple, is from the 10th century and one of the oldest standing buildings in the city.

Longhua Temple's old garden and orchard has now been converted into this large green space. Very few people are buried here, so it's more of a memorial garden and museum but the acreage is beautiful and large, akin to Luxun Park. The temple grounds became a "cemetery" because, during the civil war, Koumintang troops executed Communists on these grounds and the cemetery, poetry, fountains, steles, and sculptures commemorate those who were shot. The cemetery is an interesting example of Socialist Realist landscaping, but the peach blossoms - for which the temple's garden were famous - are still there, and attract many visitors when they flower in Spring.