Lingyin Si

Temple of the Soul's Retreat

From Lonely Planet, China.  Page 405-406:

Lingyin Si, roughly translated as either the Temple of Inspired Seclusion or Temple of the Soul's Retreat, is really Hangzhou's main attraction.

It was built in AD 326 and ,due to war and calamity, has been destroyed and restored no fewer than 16 times.  The present buildings are restorations of Qing dynasty structures.  The Hall of the Four Heavenly Guardians at the front of the temple is inscribed with the couplet 'cloud forest Buddhist temple', penned y Qing emperor Kangxi, who was a frequent visitor to Hangzhou and was inspired on one occasion by the sight of the temple in the midst and the trees.  

Inside the hall is a status of the laughing Buddha who can 'endure everything unendurable in the world and laugh at every laughable person in the world'.  

Behind this hall is the Great Hall, where you'll find the magnificent 20-m high statue of Siddhartha Guatama.  Based on a Tang dynasty original, it was sculpted in 1956 from 24 blocks of camphor wood.

Behind the great status is a startling montage of 150 small figures which charts the journey of 53 children on the road to buddhahood; also represented are Ji Gong, a famous monk who secretly ate meat, and a character known as the 'mad monk'.  During the time of the Five Dynasties about 3000 monks lived here.