Chung Tai Chan Monastery

中台禪寺
Monastery information
Order	Chung Tai Shan
Established	2001
Controlled churches	Linji school
People
Founder(s)	Grand Master Weichueh
Abbot	Master Jianying
Architecture
Status	Active
Architect	C. Y. Lee
Style	Monastery
Groundbreaking	1990
Completion date	2001
Construction cost	US$650 million
Site
Location	Puli, Nantou County, Taiwan
Coordinates	24°00′32.9″N 120°56′40.5″E / 24.009139°N 120.944583°E / 24.009139; 120.944583
Website	https://www.ctworld.org.tw/english-96/html/

Chung Tai Chan Monastery (Chinese: 中台禪寺; pinyin: Zhōngtáichán Sì) is a Buddhist monastery located in Puli Township, Nantou County, Taiwan. It is the headquarters of Chung Tai Shan, an international Chan Buddhist order. It is the tallest and one of the largest monasteries in both Taiwan and the world, having a height of 136 metres (446 ft).^[1] Widely admired as an architectural masterpiece because of the mountain monastery's more modern look, the temple is second only to Fo Guang Shan's monastery in physical size and in the number of ordained disciples.

History

Construction began in 1990 and ended with completion in 2001. From 2001 until 2006 it was the world's tallest Buddhist building and has been the world's tallest Buddhist temple since 2001.^[2]

Architecture

The temple sits in a 25 hectares of complex. It was designed by Taiwanese-based Chinese architect C. Y. Lee and constructed with a cost of US$650 million.^[3]