Spirit Valley Temple

The Spirit Valley Temple is situated on the Dulong Hillock on the left of the Purple Mountain in the northeastern suburb of Nanjing. The temple originally lay before the Wanzhu Peak south of the Purple Mountain. In the Liang Dynasty Buddhist Master Baozhi was buried here. It was named "Baogong Monastery" in the Tang Dynasty, Kaishan Monastery in the Later Tang Dynasty, Taiping Xingguo Temple in the Song Dynasty, and Jiangshan Temple in the Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of the Ming Dynasty. As the pagoda was too close to the imperial palace, the temple was moved to the present site, renamed "Linggu Temple" and presented with a horizontal board with the inscription of "First Buddhist Monastery ".

It's renowned for the arch-shaped unique hall, "Wuliangdian," which is the largest beamless hall in China. The 200 feet tall Linggu Pagoda, also called the Monument to Martyrs in Battles, was erected by the Guomindang government in 1929 to commemorate the generals and soldiers who died in the Northern Expedition.