The complex consists of over 50 buildings, most of them built in modern style from concrete, but with opulent decoration. The following listing selects some of the more interesting ones, in order from bottom to top.
One of the Four Heavenly Guardians
Great Teacher Hall
The bus terminal is housed in a temple-style building at the bottom of the valley. Head up the hill from here to reach the temple itself.
Four Heavenly Kings Gate (사천왕문 Sacheonwangmun, 34). This gate marks the start of the temple proper. Climb up to the second story for a peek at the statues of the four heavenly kings inside.
Storehouse Hall (인광당 Ingwangdang, 38). Despite its impressive size, just a storehouse. Do check out the gift shop on the lower level.
5-Story Law Hall (5층대법당 Ocheung Daebeoptang, 30). Clamber up to the top floor to see the truly impressive gilded main altar of the Buddha Shakyamuni flanked by his attendants. No photos inside.
Cross under (or over) the bridges to reach the central courtyard, and check out the huge clay pots located on seemingly every available surface: these are the temple's storehouses of kimchi.
Cafeteria Hall (향적당 Hyangjeokdang, 11). This is where the contents of the pots are served up for breakfast, lunch and dinner, but for now, take the dark passageway just to the right and keep climbing those stairs.
The next building, the most gigantic of the lot, is still under construction as of July 2009. Stairways lead past it both on the left and the right sides.
Great Teacher Hall (대조사전 Daejosajeon, 2). A shrine erected in the memory of Sangwol Wongak, a large statue of whom can be found inside.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Guinsa
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Guinsa Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
