Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum

The Baoguang Temple (Divine Light) is 18 kilometers north of Chengdu, and is supposed to have been built as early as the Eastern Han Dynasty. It is the best-preserved Buddhist temple of Sichuan.

Covering an area of more than 90,000 square meters, the whole complex now consists of one pagoda, six halls and sixteen courtyards. Its major structures are built with some 400 stone pillars and decorated with figurines of birds and animals on their eaves, and carvings of flowers and plumes on their doors and windows.

The Sheli Pagoda (Buddhist Relics Pagoda) was built in the Tang Dynasty. On each floor, there are 12 Buddha on each of the four sides. The golden roof is illuminated by the sunbeams, showing the extraordinary loftiness of the whole structure. The predecessor of the pagoda is a wooden pagoda built in the Eastern Han Dynasty.

The Arhat Hall was built in 1849 during the Qing Dynasty. The hall contains 500; two-meter-high clay figurines representing Buddhist saints and disciples. Realistically sculptured, these arhats are different with regards to facial expressions, gestures and costumes and are reputed as one of the best-preserved sculpture groups of the Qing Dynasty.