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 The Yuantong Temple is the most famous Buddhist
temple in Kunming. In
the 1950s, it hosted a grand ceremony to greet and send on the
sacred
teeth of the Buddha and so became important in Southeast Asia. It
was
first built in the late 8th and early 9th century, the time of the
Nanzhao
Kingdom in the Tang Dynasty. After two major restorations and
expansion
in the Chenghua period（1465-1487）of the Ming Dynasty and the 24th
year
of Emperor Kangxi's rule（1686）of the Qing Dynasty, the temple
took on
its present design, with covered corridors, bridges and grand
halls.
 This old Temple is noted for its unusual
structure which is high at the front and low at the back, From the
front archway named "Yuantong
Shengjing" (Wonderland), one can behold the entire garden. To the
north
is the splendid Yuantong main hall. At both sides of the hall are
covered
corridors running beside clear pools. This structure of a Buddhist
hall
surrounded by water is unique in China. The main hall maintains the
style
of the Yuan Dynasty architecture .Circling the two central pillars
inside
the hall are two giant dragons carved during the Ming Dynasty. The
blue
and yellow dragons face each other, as if they are ready to fight. The stone staircases on both sides of the main hall are carved
out
of the cliff and are known as the "Caizhilu ." From here one can
climb to
the top of the mountain. Beside the path are the most ancient
inscriptions
in Kunming. Weathering in the wind and rain for centuries, the
 characters
are still clear today, and they are one of the most important
historical
relics in the city. Behind the main hall are two caves,the " Yougu" and "Chaoying".
The
caves wind far into the mysterious depths of the mountain, and,
according
to local legend, were once the home of dragons. In the Nan Zhao
Kingdom,
a monk built a temple beside the cliff to entice the dragons. When
the
temple was destroyed, he built a terrace on which to perform magic
on
the dragons. Sun Ranweng, author and writer of the long
antithetical
couplet hung on the Daguan Belvedere, used to make a living by
predicting
people's fortunes here.
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