Fayun Temple Ancient Trail Introduction
Fayun Temple is located at the junction of Gongguan Township and Shitan Township in Wenshui Village. It is one of the four major Buddhist sites in Taiwan, originally built in the first year of the Republic of China, later reconstructed due to earthquake damage. The newly built Fayun Temple features a majestic and solemn appearance with a style reminiscent of the Tang dynasty. Inside the main hall, the Great Buddha Hall houses a statue of a white jade Buddha, approximately 9 feet tall and weighing around 10,000 pounds, donated by Master Hongzong from Singapore. The garden outside the hall is filled with cherry plum trees, and what makes it special is the presence of a Bodhi tree beside the temple, symbolizing wisdom, which bears abundant fruits from September to December each year. The straw insulation basket from Wenshui Village is also a rare handcrafted item. The ancient trail to Fayun Temple starts from the Chenghuang Temple in Kaikuang Village and ends at Dahu Fayun Temple, with a total length of 1.8 kilometers. It served as an important transportation path for the ancestors developing the Shuipoi Ping area in Dahu. The original ancient trail was located behind the current Kaikuang Elementary School, crossing over the saddle ridge of Jintong Mountain (Jianshan) and leading to the bridge on the other side of Fayun Temple, reaching the Shuipoi Ping area in Dahu Township and the Wenshui area in Shitan Township. Later, due to the construction of Fayun Temple, the trail was redirected to the existing army hiking trail, making the original ancient path difficult to trace.
