Chung Tai Chan Monastery
Chung Tai Chan Monastery () is a Buddhist monastery located in Puli Township, Nantou County, Taiwan. It is the headquarters of Chung Tai Shan, an international Chan Buddhist order. It is the tallest and one of the largest monasteries in both Taiwan and the world, having a height of . Widely admired as an architectural masterpiece because of the mountain monastery's more modern look, the temple is second only to Fo Guang Shan's monastery in physical size and in the number of ordained disciples. History. Construction began in 1990 and ended with completion in 2001. From  2001 until 2006 it was the world's tallest Buddhist building and has been the world's tallest Buddhist temple since 2001. Architecture. The temple sits in a 25 hectares of complex. It was designed by Taiwanese-based Chinese architect C. Y. Lee and constructed with a cost of US$650 million.