Originally built in 598 CE during the Sui dynasty, and renovated during the reign of the Qing Yongzheng Emperor (r. 1722–1735), the temple is located roughly 220 kilometres (140 mi) from the city of Hangzhou.

It was the initial site for the creation of the Tiantai school of Mahāyāna Buddhism, founded by the Chinese Buddhist teacher Zhiyi (538–597 CE).

[7][8] Tanaka's mother was a devout Buddhist from the Tendai school, who, before he visited China, had asked him to pay homage in the Guoqing Temple on her behalf.

[6] Because of the Cultural Revolution, some of the ancient buildings inside the temple had been either destroyed or damaged by the Red Guards for many years after the anti-religious campaign in Communist China.

The Restoration Committee gave notice to all units and people from the entire county to find these cultural relics from the Guoqing Temple.

A total of 323 out of 500 statues of the Five Hundred Arhats from the temple were found stored in a farm implements factory in Tiantai County, with a few having sustained some damage.

[6] The State Council permitted the Restoration Committee to select and transport some Buddha statues and sacrificial vessels to Guoqing Temple.

[6] To restore these incomplete cultural relics, the craftsmen used a unique skill, namely the "dried lacquer and ramie process" (干漆夹苎).

[6] In addition to renovating and repairing the original cultural relics, workers of the Restoration Committee elaborately designed some new sculptures and items inside the temple.

Beside the pond are the Yuleguo ("fish's paradise") stele (鱼乐国) inscribed by Dong Qichang, a famous calligrapher from the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), as well as an imperial monument from the Qianlong Emperor.

[6] During the renovation, an ancient prune tree which was planted under the Sui dynasty (581–618 CE) over 1300 years ago in Guoqing Temple was revived.

[6] The large bronze tripod (青铜鼎) cast in Qianlong Period of the Qing dynasty (1644–1911) of China comes from the Palace Museum.

[6] From the Guoqing Temple, the Tiantai school of East Asian Buddhism originated and spread to both Korea and Japan during the Tang dynasty (618–907 CE).