White Cloud Temple (Xuanmiaoguan)
Situated on the Back Xinlin Street at the former Western Gate of Shanghai, Shanghai White Cloud Temple is a temple of the Complete Perfection Tradition, which is at the present seat of Shanghai Taoist Association.
The temple got its name in honor of Qiu Chuji (whose literary name was Changchunzi), the patriarch of the Dragon Gate Sect 3 of the Complete Perfection Tradition. In the 19th Guangxu year (1893), President of Shanghai Chamber of Commerce, Chen Runfu provided fund for the temple. Later, the Hall of the Three Pristine Ones, the Hall of Patriarch Lü and the Hall of Patriarch Qiu was enlarged, and the area of the temple was expanded into a considerable dimension of 14 mu. The hall is divided into the front and the back parts. The middle line of the front part is composed of the Hall of the Thunder Patriarch and the library; the eastern line is composed of the guest rooms and the Hall of Patriarch Qiu; the western line is composed of the dining room, the Hall of the Big Dipper, and so on.
