Spatial Structures, Characters and Visitors of Tourist Temples of Buddhism in Shanghai

Abstract

In this study, spatial structures, characters and visitors of ‘tourist temples’, which are open to unspecialized visitors paying admission fee, of Buddhism in China are analyzed using results of research on 5 temples in Shanghai. There is a general pattern of placement of halls in precincts of temples of Chinese Buddhism. Temples with narrow precincts near central district of Shanghai make many efforts to follow the pattern. Generally, tourist temples have characters as religious spaces, tourist facilities and cultural properties (or cultural heritages). A character as religious space of tourist temples in China is clearer than in Japan. Visitors to tourist temples in China tend to pray to every statue of Buddha with Kowtow. Most of these temples have halls for memorial tablets of dead adherents. These temples have also a character as tourist facilities, or rather as facilities for various commerce and service industry including tourism. In contrast, a character as cultural properties of these temples in China is less clear than in Japan.