The Yu Of Is temple was founded in 1882 to house two white jade Buddhas brought from Burma by sea the year before by a monk of Putuo Shan. The temple was destroyed and then abandoned after 1911 but the two buddhas were survived unharmed. The temple buildings were reconstructed on the same site between 1918 and 1928 in the style of the Song Dynasty (960-1279), with symmetrical halls and courtyards, upturned eaves and bright yellow walls. The exterior is identifiable by the bright saffron walls. It is currently an active temple with 70 resident monks at the last count.
The Jade Buddha Temple is famed for the two Buddhas housed within. Both are made of white jade and depict Shakyamuni Buddha (the historical Buddha).
The most impressive of the two is the seated Buddha, 6 feet 5 inches tall, weighing 452 lbs (some references say over a ton which is probably closer to being correct) and encrusted with jewels. The other statue is a serene and beautiful Reclining Buddha 3 feet 4 inches long representing Buddha's death.
In the large hall are three gold-plated Buddhas, and other halls showcase ferocious-looking deities.
These two Jade Buddhas are the treasures of the temple. The Sitting Buddha is carved out of a whole piece of white jade. The Reclining Buddha is a Sakyamuni figure in the state of nirvana.
Photograpy is permitted throughout the temple and visitors are welcome to take photographs of all the Buddhas in the temple except for the Sitting Jade Buddha. We did not realize that until after Bill had snapped a picture of it! Bill was told to put his camera away and he quickly complied. His photo is a slightly blurry; the post card showing the Sitting Buddha has much better detail.
It occurred to me that the reason you can't photograph the sitting Jade Buddha is because they sell postcards and other items in the gift shop. However, as you exited they gave you a complimentary post card with the sitting Jade Buddha so that threw out that theory. I don't know why you can photograph them all but that one.