The Most Secluded Zen Monastery in Suzhou | Shangqing Zen Monastery (1574)

| Shangqing Zen Monastery (1574). Shangqing Zen Monastery is located inside the Nanyuan Hotel on Shiquan Street in Suzhou. According to the 'Wu County Annals', it was originally named Shangqing An and located at Loumen, established during the Ming Dynasty's Chongzhen period. In the eighth year of the Qing Dynasty's Tongzhi era, the abbot Fuchuan led his disciple Huigen to rebuild it at Nanyuan. In the 18th year of the Republic of China (1929), Chiang Kai-shek built a private residence here, and his second wife Yao Yecheng lived here with her son Wei Guo. Madame Yao, a devout Buddhist, turned it into a family temple and set up a Buddha hall. Due to long-term neglect in maintenance, the temple was destroyed. It was rebuilt in 2004. The Zen Monastery has two floors, is not large in scale, and is simple and elegant.