My new Shanghai digs are in the northwest district of 普陀 Putuo (the last was in 杨浦 Yangpu, close to the border to 宝山 Baoshan, in the northeast). A publication of the district office (above) apprised us of the existence of a Yuan-Dynasty Buddhist temple not far from my friend's
place named 真如寺 Zhenru, so we headed off to have a look. Neighborhoods around have been entirely replaced by housing complexes and the nearest landmark is a vast fish market but Zhenru is alive and well. It boasts a 650-year old hall (along with an equally ancient ginkgo tree which has recently produced new branches.
Everything else is, predictably, new - like the ten-storey pagoda, erected in 1999, and the stacked Avalokitesvara and blubbery Maitreya (above right and left). But what a pleasure to visit a functioning Buddhist temple in a less famous part of Shanghai, and how impressive to see the long rosters of supporters. 
