On October 7 local time, the Buddhist Association of Canada Cham Shan Temple (“Cham Shan Temple”) announced that the Guanyin Hall of the Wutai Shan Buddhist Garden (“Wutai Shan”) has concluded its consecration ceremony. Following the completion of the Main Hall on October 5, 2019, the completion of the Guanyin Hall represents another milestone in the Wutai Shan Buddhist Garden construction project. The five-and-a-half months of assembly of the Guanyin Hall wooden structure, from its commencement on April 15 to its completion on September 30, sets the record for the shortest construction period in North America for Tang-Dynasty style wooden structure assembly.

Wutai Shan Buddhist Garden represents the first phase of the monumental project known as the Four Great Sacred Buddhist Gardens in Canada, which was initiated by Cham Shan Temple. Initial planning and preparation of the Wutai Shan construction project started in 2005 with government approvals and permits obtained in 2006, ushering in the start of substantial design and construction work.

Wutai Shan’s wooden structure complex is comprised of the Main Hall, Guan Yin Hall, Ksitigarbha Hall, Manjushri Hall, Heavenly Kings Hall and the Main Entrance Gate. Construction work for the Main Hall commenced on May 28, 2011 and the completion ceremony was held on October 5, 2019. The Main Hall is a replica of the exact proportion of the Wutai Shan Great East Hall in Shanxi, China, a protected cultural heritage of China.

The now completed Guanyin Hall has an area of about 5,000 sq. ft. Since the ground-breaking ceremony on September 18, 2021, Cham Shan Temple and all other parties involved have utilized herculean efforts towards its construction. The assembly of its wooden structure took five and a half months only – from April 15 to September 30, 2022, setting a new record in North America for the shortest construction period in North America for Tang-dynasty style wooden structure assembly.

The Consecration Ceremony of the Main Hall in 2019 saw a record of 27,000 visitors to the site, but due to COVID pandemic since 2020, the Consecration Ceremony of the Guanyin Hall was unable to be opened to the public.

Ven. Master Sing Hung (founder of Cham Shan Temple), Venerable Pou Tu (Fu Sien Tong Buddhist Temple) and Ven. Dayi Shi (President of the Buddhist Association of Canada and the Abbot of Cham Shan Temple), co-hosted the Consecration Ceremony.

Ven. Dayi Shi stated that 40 years ago, the three founders of Cham Shan Temple vowed to build the Four Great Sacred Buddhist Gardens in Canada. After several decades of unimaginable adversities and challenges, we finally witnessed the completion of the second building – Guan Yin Hall. The Four Great Sacred Buddhist Gardens in Canada will serve not only people of all cultures and background in North America, but will also act as a platform for propagation of the Buddhist spirit of compassion.

The construction of Wutai Shan, especially the Guan Yin Hall, was coincidentally met with the COVID pandemic, which brought about unprecedented and immense challenge to the construction process, including the global supply chain crisis, significant increase in cost of supplies and construction material, and inability to obtain entry visa for the Chinese artisans. Ven. Dayi Shi said, all obstacles have been overcome due to the immense support of everyone and the valiant efforts of the management and the construction teams. Finally, Ven. Dayi Shi on behalf of himself and Cham Shan Temple, expressed gratitude to everyone for their support and trust.

According to Ven. Dayi Shi, the path to completing the Wutai Shan project is still long and arduous. However, Cham Shan Temple continues to rise to the challenge. He vows to endeavour to complete the construction as soon as possible, with a view to bring the benefits of the Buddhist dharma to all living beings and to enrich Canada’s multiculturalism.