The religious aspects of Nanjing 南京

Jiming Temple (鸡鸣寺)

The temple, which literally means "rooster crowing" was first constructed in 557 during the Liang Dynasty and has been destroyed and reconstructed many times. The existing temple was constructed during the Ming Dynasty during the reign of Emperor Hongwu in 1387

Dinglin Temple

A less well known temple complex on the Jiangning mountain to the south of Nanjing. The complex was founded more than 1500 ago and has a remarkable leaning tower

And some details of the temple complex

Linggu Temple (灵谷寺), "the best Buddhist temple in the world"

The temple was first built in 515 under the reign of the Liang Dynasty (502-557). It used to lie at the northeast foot of Mount Zhongshan, i.e. where Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum now locates, since Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang chose the place to be his mausoleum and then the temple was moved to the present place. The temple was named by Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang himself. It used to be large and covered an area of over 300,000 square metres. Later it was destroyed in warfare under the reign of Emperor Xianfeng and rebuilt under the reign of Emperor Tongzhi in the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911).
Wuliang Hall, or Beamless Hall, was constructed in 1381, and is 22 metres high and 53.8 metres wide. The hall enjoys high reputation for its special architectural techniques. It has three archways on the front and rear sides respectively. The structure was built with bricks from the bottom to the top entirely, without a piece of wood or a single nail. Thus it was called Wuliang Hall, since Wuliang means beamless. It happens that the hall originally enshrined Amitayus (Buddha of Infinite Life) whose Chinese name pronounces the same with Wuliang. Later in 1928, the hall was turned into the memorial hall of soldiers who lost their lives in the War of Northern Expedition (1926–1927). More than 30,000 soldiers were enshrined.
Linggu Pagoda was built in 1929 in close proximity to the temple.

Jiuhuashan

On the city wall, facing Xuanwu lake, there is a small temple

Qixia Temple (栖霞寺)

Qixia Temple is a Buddhist temple located on Qixia Hill in the suburban Qixia District in Nanjing. It is one of Nanjing's most important Buddhist monasteries. Built in AD 489, the 7th year of the Yongming (永明) era during the South Qi Dynasty, the temple is known for its large collection of Chinese Buddhist visual art and sculptural art in the grounds. These consist of pagodas, murals and artwork that date back to the 10th century. Near the temple site and situated on the slopes of Qixia Hill, is the "Thousand Buddha Caves", a grotto containing many Buddhist sculptural works of art

And more religious expressions

There are many places where you can find small altars or temples around Nanjing. Below you will find some examples

Kwan-Yin scenic area

Close to the Yangtzhe river you find a scenic area with some altars and statues

Pilu Temple

In the middle of the city you can find Pilu Temple, a complex consisting of several buildings