Daming Monastery, built in the Southern Dynasties (420 - 589), is situated in the northwestern suburb of Yangzhou City. It was renamed 'Qiling Monastery' in the Sui Dynasty (581 - 618) due to a cognominal pagoda built in it and Fajing Monastery in the Qing Dynasty when Emperor Qianlong was in power. After 1980, its original name 'Daming Monastery' was reused.

During its long history of more than 1500 years, this temple was destroyed and rebuilt many times until it was destroyed right down to its foundations during the Taiping Rebellion. The present one dates from 1934.

The main buildings in this temple consist of Daxiongbaodian Hall, Pingyuan Tower, Pingshan Hall, Yuyuan Garden, Jianzhen Memorial Hall, Qiling Pagoda and the 'Fifth Spring under Heaven'.

Daming Monastery is where the Tang Dynasty (618-907AD) monk Jianzhen studied and became superior of the temple and also became a famed teacher of Buddhism in the region. Jianzhen played an integral role in the development of Buddhism in Japan. Having experienced five failures, he finally succeeded in crossing the seas and building the Toshodaiji Temple in Nara. In 1973 a memorial hall was built at the northeastern corner of the temple honoring Jianzhen and commemorating the renewed friendship between China and Japan.