The temple's history is measured less in what stands than in what has been rebuilt. The Chinese Civil War reduced it to ruins, and by 1985 the remaining structures were completely demolished. What might have ended the story instead began another chapter. In 1990, local Buddhist believers pooled their resources to begin reconstruction, an effort that would stretch across two decades and multiple phases. From 2000 to 2012, under the supervision of the abbot Guotong -- who was formally proposed for the position in 2013 -- the reconstruction project restored the temple to a scale approaching its historical footprint. The twelve-year timeline reflects both the complexity of traditional Chinese temple construction and the community's commitment to getting it right.

The rebuilt complex follows the traditional layout of Chinese Buddhist temples. Visitors enter through the Shanmen -- the 'Mountain Gate' that symbolically marks the threshold between the secular and sacred worlds. Beyond it rises the Mahavira Hall, dedicated to the historical Buddha, and the Hall of Four Heavenly Kings, where guardian deities watch over the four cardinal directions. A Bell Tower and Drum Tower flank the central axis, their instruments once used to mark the rhythms of monastic life -- the bell calling monks to meditation at dawn, the drum signaling evening prayers. The Hall of Ksitigarbha honors the bodhisattva who vowed not to achieve Buddhahood until all the hells are emptied. A Dharma Hall provides space for sutra lectures and teaching, continuing the educational mission that Zhang'an began here more than thirteen centuries ago.

Tiantai Buddhism centers on the Lotus Sutra, one of the most influential texts in Mahayana Buddhism. When Zhang'an brought these teachings to what is now Gaocheng District, he was extending a philosophical tradition that had already reshaped religious life across southern China. The Tiantai school's emphasis on the universality of enlightenment -- the idea that even a single moment of consciousness contains the entire universe -- gave ordinary people a pathway to spiritual practice that did not require monastic withdrawal. For the agricultural communities of the North China Plain, this was a faith that could be practiced between planting and harvest. The temple's repeated destruction and reconstruction mirrors a central Tiantai teaching: that reality is constantly arising and passing away, and that what matters is the intention behind each new beginning.