The design concept of Changchun Wanshou Temple

The rebuilt Wanshou Temple is located at the core of the "Northeast Asia Golden Link Cultural Park". Wanshou Temple is the core of the cultural park, fulfilling religious functions; the cultural park is an expansion of the temple's cultural and social functions.

The central axis of the rebuilt Wanshou Temple is parallel to Changchun’s People’s Street and faces the Yitong River system, the mother river of Changchun City. Such a location symbolizes Changchun people’s memory of the city’s origins.

Whether it is the Wanshou Temple or the "Northeast Asia Golden Link Cultural Park", its scale and exquisiteness of architectural design are second to none in the Northeast, and there are only a few even in China.

This modern Buddhist architectural form, with the temple as the central point and the cultural park as the radiating surface, combines the religious functions of the temple with the cultural and social functions and complements each other. In ancient times, the function of a temple was relatively simple, that is, a place to "place Buddha statues" and "for monks and nuns to stop and practice". Therefore, only a Buddhist hall (originally a pagoda) was set up in the center and monks' rooms were set up outside. In addition, in the early days, for the purpose of practicing monks, most monasteries were built in mountains and forests, also known as "Alanruo" (quiet places far away from villages). However, with the development of the times, although the monastic community is still based on spiritual practice, its connection with society has become closer. Due to the expansion of cities, many monasteries that were originally located in the suburbs and mountains are now even in the center of the city; even monasteries far away from the city have often become tourist hot spots. In this era, temples are no longer just places for monks to improve their self-cultivation. Society requires temples to assume more and more responsibilities. For example, we can guide and enhance social atmosphere through monks’ sermons, Buddhist activities and other distinctive cultures; we can cultivate the hearts of pilgrims and tourists through temple architecture, art and other hardware facilities. In fact, this is not only a practical need in a special era, but also a measure for Buddhism to proactively adapt to social changes. As the functions of temples gradually expand, the construction scale and construction level will inevitably also gradually expand and improve.

Therefore, the "combination of points and aspects" of temples and cultural gardens came into being and is increasingly favored by people.