China has been exposed to more than 2,000 years of rich Buddhist culture, and nowadays temple visits can be two purposes: a religious pilgrimage or just a tourist stop as many temples are architecturally complex and for first-time temple-goers the experience can seem more like an exercise in confusion than a route to enlightenment. The good news is that Chinese Buddhist temples are all laid out in a similar fashion, and once you become familiar with the concept and design, finding the Maitreya Buddha hall in a strange monastery is as easy as locating the dairy section at an unfamiliar Wal-mart.
First of all, unless you're a monk - or at least a regular visitor - you'll probably have to buy a ticket. Prices range from RMB 2 for the modest street-corner temple, to a double-digit fee for the biggest, oldest and most extravagant monasteries. But before you tack a complaint on the monastery door, keep in mind that the high entrance fee is typically mandated by the local tourist administrations, not the monastery itself.
Once you pay your ticket and enter the main gate, you should be facing north. Monasteries are laid out on a north/south axis, so if you start at the gate and keep walking straight ahead you're sure to see all the highlights. Inevitably, the first shrine hall you'll encounter will be located at the front of the monastery, facing outward, and devoted to the Maitreya Buddha. Maitreya is a future Buddha, and is usually depicted as a chubby, happy figure - even on Chinese food takeaway cartons and T-shirts found in Western countries.
Behind Maitreya you'll see Wei Tuo Bodhisattva, a rather grim-looking deity, venerated as the protector of Buddhism. This figure faces toward the monastery, and can be recognized by his vajra thunderbolt, an Indian religious symbol that looks like a cross between a royal scepter and an old-fashioned eggbeater.
Following our advice, continue your tour in a straight line to the main shrine hall. In theory, there are an infinite number of Buddha¡¯s, but the main shrine hall usually pays homage to the Buddha Sakyamuni, who founded Buddhism some 2,500 years ago. In front and behind the main shrine hall, you'll see a number of smaller shrine halls that are peculiar to the temple's sect, teachings, and characteristics. Here you might find an icon of Guanyin Bodhisattva, usually depicted as a young woman, representing the qualities of mercy and compassion.
Of course, many people visit monasteries not for their material beauty but spiritual reasons. Burning incense is a common way for visitors to pay their respects, and accrue easy karmic merit. Burning three sticks of incense is generally considered sufficient, though many visitors burn much more and the smoke can become very thick. If you choose to burn incense, you can purchase a few sticks at one of the shops outside the gate or at the temple store. In the courtyard, light the incense at one of the red candles, turn towards the shrine of your choice, holding the glowing incense between clasped palms and bow three times in each direction, rotating clockwise. This act symbolizes homage to all the Buddha. When you're done, stick the incense in the sand of the incense burner.
Likewise, when you enter a shrine hall, you may wish to follow the lead of the devotees (more than likely elderly women), and prostrate yourself in front of the altars. The proper way to do so is to clasp your palms together, kneel on the mat, place your hands at your side and touch your head to the pillow. Repeat this process three times and then, if you so choose, place a small offering in the box.
Most monasteries are open seven days a week from dawn until late afternoon. Despite our earlier warning about the smoke, the best time to visit is on the morning of a holiday, when the monastery is crowded with devotees. Good bets include the first and fifteenth day of the lunar month. The biggest event of the year is the eve of Chinese New Year; when most monasteries are open all night. Then, the entire families gobbled and bloated from huge feasts at New Year¡¯s Eve would come to the monastery to pray for good fortune in the coming year.
For instance, in Shanghai, most tourists visit at least one of the big three temples: Yufo, Jing'an, and Longhua. But the city hosts more than 50 temples, most of which are less touristy (and less expensive) than the big three.
temple dos
Greet monks and nuns with clasped palms and the phrase Amituofo (Amitabha Buddha). Monastics may be addressed as fashi (dharma master) or shifu (seniors in reverence).
Feel free to burn incense and bow in front of the shrines. If you are a Westerner, you may get some odd looks, but the Buddha will not be offended.
Place a coin or two in the offering boxes; this act may earn you good karma, and get rid of the yuans weighing down your pocket.
Help yourself to any of the free Buddhist literature, usually found on a table in one of the courtyards. Reading a Buddhist tract may bring merit to you and the person who wrote the text (but throwing it away later is a karmic no-no).

temple don'ts:
Never enter the monastery with beer in one hand and a helping of pork baozi in the other; meat and alcohol are prohibited on the temple grounds, which would be considered extremely impolite or offensive to the holy place and the people there.
Never enter the private cloisters surrounding the back and sides of the temple. Monastics live, eat, sleep and meditate in these areas, and visitors are not welcome.
Never touch the altars, Buddha images or anything else inside the shrine halls. You can, however, leave a small offering of fresh fruit or cooking oil on the altar.

 
Never smoke or carry lit incense into a shrine hall. Besides being impolite, this is dangerous in a 500-year-old wooden structure.