Jade Buddha Temple in Shanghai was founded in the late 1800’s and is renowned for its beautiful white jade Buddha statues as well as numerous gold figures. As an active Buddhist monastery and learning center, this temple draws both locals and tourists alike. With a long and colorful history, Jade Buddha Temple was first described to me by my grandfather when I was a child. In the roaring 20’s of Shanghai, he was a regular in the Yuyuan Garden, where the Jade Buddha Temple is situated.

His stories recreated a world I was desperate to see, one with opulent restaurants and imperial dishes, beautiful people in silky qi-paos and the occasional, forbidden waft of opium smoke.Given my own family history, the Jade Buddha Temple was one of the must-sees in Shanghai, complete with a quaint restaurant that specializes in noodle and vegetarian dishes for extremely reasonable prices.

What is priceless here is the experience of dining at an old temple, considered a Shanghai heritage site. Most Buddhist temples around the world reserve the dining areas for resident monks and volunteers only but this temple has segregated different sections to serve the public. Most famous here- the savory Mushroom Noodles and vegetarian dishes.

This is a unique part of any journey to Shanghai. If you’re lucky enough to visit when there aren’t too many tourists around, slurp on the delicious noodles and listen to the mesmerizing chants of the resident monks echo through the temple. You can almost feel like you’re back in the Qing Dynasty. More than worth it for the price of a bowl of noodles.

170 Anyuan Lo,Shanghai
P: 021-6266-3668