Located on the south side of Yuantong Hill, with a history of more than 1200 years, Yuantong Temple (Yuantong Si) is the biggest Buddhist shrine in Kunming city and the headquarters of the Yunnan Provincial and Kunming City Buddhists Associations, as well as a destination of pilgrimage for pilgrims worldwide.
Having embodied all the essentials of Tang architecture, the temple possesses a style of its own. Within the precinct of the temple there is a pool filled with green water, while in the middle is an octagonal pavilion with stone bridges in the front and at the back. The pavilion is furnished in an elegant manner and is invested with a tone of antiquity. Walking along a stone bridge from the Octagonal Pavilion the tourist will come to the 'Daxon Temple'. The roof-tree of the temple is entwined with two big dragons, carved with surpassing workmanship and showing a great vividness which affords the tourists a rare artistic pleasure.
Yuantong Temple is one of the most important sites in the region for Buddhist ceremonies. In 1956, the temple held a tooth of the Buddha here for a short time. The ceremonies at which the tooth relic where received and sent off were important events in the history of Yuantong Temple.
On the 1st and 15th of each lunar month, people gather here to take part in all kinds of Buddhist services. There is also a good vegetarian restaurant on the premises serving lunch and dinner.