Be happiness itself. ~Buddha

The Jade Buddha Temple, also known as Yufo Si, is the most famous ancient temple in Shanghai and although it is recommended in every city guide, this temple is not a tourist attraction, but an actual Zen Buddist temple. The complex is rather small which makes you immediately part of the scenery. A few steps into the courtyard, I already lost my family and found myself moving slowly around, almost floating, while observing life through my viewfinder. There was so much going on and at the same time everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Conscious of my own presence, I wanted to make sure I was being respectful, but none of the worshippers were paying attention to me. Each and one of them was quietly focused on praying and making offers. Many had large bundles of burning sticks of incense which they raise above the head while bowing. Others burned paper replicas of offerings in the fire pits. While these kind of locations can be a challenge to photograph, a nice winter sun showered the sacred place with great light that bounced perfectly back inside the temple. My images turned out nicely, but to give you the feel of the moment I choose to process them with a little scent of smoke, hoping you can smell the smoke or feel your eyes itching. If not, I highly recommend to put a visit to the Jade Buddha Temple on your bucket list...