Hunan's 29 Temples have been open to tourists for free

Since May 10th, 29 temples in Hunan including Changsha Lushan Temple and Hengyang Yanfeng Temple have been open to tourists for free in an attempt to resist commercialization.

On May 12th, an increasing number of tourists was noted visiting national 5A-level scenic spot of Yuelu Mountain, compared with the number of visitors prior to the policy.

Lushan Temple, before enforcing this strategy charged 5 yuan per visitor entrance fee to provide for monks and temple renovations. Initiated by Vice President of the China Buddhist Association, President of the Hunan Buddhist Association and Buddhist abbot of the Changsha Lushan Temple, the campaign is receiving great support from 28 other temples namely Yuquan Temple, Tielu Temple, Songbai Temple, Wangcheng Xixin Temple, Liuyang Shishuang Temple, Hengyang Yanfeng Temple, Qidong Wanfu Temple, Nanyue Nantai Temple, Yanfu Temple, Dashan Temple, Shangfeng Temple, and Xiangtan Haihui Temple.