The layout of yanshou temple is quite unique. It sits west to east, surrounded by mountains and rivers, and there are two courtyards side by side in the north and south: South Courtyard and North Courtyard. On both sides of the gate of the North Yard, there are two floors, bells and drums. In the courtyard, there are the Temple of the King of Heaven, the Temple of Wei Tuo, the Temple of Galapagos, the Hall of Guanyin and the Hall of Ursa Major. In the south of the South Yard, there are five pagodas, the highest of which is a nine-story octagonal wind chime pagoda with 72 bronze bells and a Jiutong stone tablet hanging on it. The biggest one carries a big monument on his back, and the top of the monument is engraved with Kowloon. In addition, the temple is covered with cypress trees, which makes the whole temple look thick and blue. According to legend, no one can count the cypress trees in yanshou temple.
Due to the construction of Gangnan Reservoir in 1959, the mountain where yanshou temple was originally located has now become an island in Gangnan Reservoir, surrounded by water and rippling blue waves, with beautiful scenery, like Putuo and Penglai. In 2000, the restoration of yanshou temple officially began. An 85-year-old monk (Master) led the monks to yanshou temple to personally plan and guide the restoration project. Under difficult conditions, classes are held in the morning and evening, and the activities of the Dharma Club are carried out as planned. After several years' efforts, the restored yanshou temple has begun to take shape, with the Daxiong Hall, the Third Temple, the Sutra Building, the East-West Attached Hall, the East-West Liao Fang (more than 600 square meters), the small courtyard (the old monk sanatorium) and the circulation office built one after another. Yanshou Zen Temple covers an area of 15 mu, facing south, built on the mountain, surrounded by mountains and water. The northeast and the revolutionary holy land Xibaipo are separated by a water, facing each other far away, with a distance of 10. It is 35 li away from Pingshan County, 0/30 li away from Shijiazhuang City, and more than 200 li away from Wutai Mountain in the northwest.
An old monk of Ming Dynasty (a Zen master of Ming Dynasty) went back to visit yanshou temple, where he became a monk when he was a child. After arriving at the temple site, an old monk of the Ming Dynasty sighed, "This is a very good ancient temple, which has been destroyed." After climbing the mountain, I looked around, and the spirit of the old monk Ming suddenly shook and said, "What is this place!" " He saw here surrounded by water, blue waves of fragrant fish, blooming mountain flowers, overflowing fragrance, blue sky and white clouds, green mountains and green waters, and many places like Putuo and Penglai. This situation gave birth to the idea of rebuilding yanshou temple.