Yufeng Monastery(Óñ·åËÂ), or Jade Peak temple, located at the southern foot of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, stands about 13 kilometers to the north of Lijiang City. Yufeng Temple is one of the Scarlet Sect lamaseries in Lijiang. The beautiful sceneries around Yufeng Temple are special gifts from the deity. The temple backs onto a snow mountain and faces a meadow. It is surrounded by the flourishing forest and a never-dried river. All this makes it a really good place to visit.

The whole Yufeng Temple shows a distinctive and conjunct architectural style of Han Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhism, Taoism and the local Naxi Dongba Religion due to the cultural communication between different minorities and different areas in the Qing Dynasty. It is the compatible and harmonious trait makes the Naxi culture develop and enrich so quickly.

The temple has three courtyards and the famous Great Camellia is in the northern one. It is said the Great Camellia was planted between 1465 and 1487 during the Ming Dynasty before the temple was built. So the tree is more than 500 years old. Its blossoming period lasts more than 100 days a year, and produces more than 20,000 flowers in 20 groups, each group over 1,000 flowers. One blossom is about 17 cm in diameter. The scene is magnificent. The luxuriance of the camellia owes a lot to the lamas of the temples for the past centuries. This special camellia was made of two as a mater of fact, one called Lion's Head and the other Early Peach Red.

Due to the closeness of between each other, the camellias one day joined and refused to apart again like two lovers. Today one can hardly tell them apart without close observation. In the eyes of the Naxi, the Great Camellia is the symbol of true love. Naxi young lovers that want to die for their love in Yunshanpin of Jade Dragons snow Mountain will come to Yufeng lamasery to take a look at the Great Camellia. This tree is believed to have a magical power to persuade the young lovers to cherish their lives and enjoy happy life in real world.

Yufeng Temple is a historical witness of the peaceful coexistence and syncretism of multinational cultures and religions, and still plays a very important role in acculturation of Naxi Ethnic Group.

Admission: 25 yuan (190 yuan for the "Great Jade Dragon" scenic spots including Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, Jade Water Villa, Dongba Valley, Jade Pillars, Dongba Park, Dongba Kingdom and Yufeng Temple)

Opening hours: 8£º30£­18£º00

How to get there: You can take No. 7 bus at Lijiang New Avenue to get there.