Fayun Temple Old Trail Introduction
Fayun Temple is located in Wenshui Village at the border of Gongguan Township and Shitan Township. It is one of the four major Buddhist temples in Taiwan, originally built in the first year of the Republic of China. It was later rebuilt due to damage from an earthquake. The newly constructed Fayun Temple has a solemn and majestic appearance, resembling the style of the Tang Dynasty. Inside the main hall, the Great Hero Buddha statue, made of white jade, stands about 9 feet tall and weighs ten thousand jin, donated by Master Hongzong from Singapore. The garden outside the hall is filled with cherry blossoms, and uniquely, there is a Bodhi tree planted next to the temple symbolizing wisdom, which bears abundant fruits from September to December each year. Additionally, the straw insulation basket from Wenshui Village is a rare handcrafted item. The Fayun Temple Ancient Trail starts from the Chenghuang Temple in Kaiming Village and ends at Dahu Fayun Temple, with a total length of 1.8 kilometers. It was an important transportation route for the ancestors developing the Shuiweiping area in Dahu. The original ancient path was located behind the current Kaiming Elementary School, crossing over the saddle of Jintong Mountain (Jianshan), descending to the other side of Fayun Temple, and reaching the Shuiweiping area of Dahu Township and the Wenshui area of Shitan Township. Later, due to the construction of Fayun Temple, the trail was redirected to the current Army hiking trail, and the original ancient path has become difficult to trace.
