In the shadow of Jianshui's ancient East Gate, known as the Chaoyang Tower, stands the quiet remnant of the Donglin Monastery. This site began its life during the Yuan Dynasty under the name Zhutian Temple. For centuries, it has anchored a dense neighborhood of traditional courtyards and public wells on Donglin Monastery Street.

In 1553, during the thirty-second year of the Jiajing reign, a prefect named Zhang Shiyuan arrived from Suzhou to govern Lin'an. He renamed the sanctuary Donglin Monastery. Within its grounds, he established the Banxian Pavilion, or the "Half-Leisure Pavilion." Here, Zhang Shiyuan sought quiet after his long inspections of local agricultural fields. He sat with the resident monks, shared conversations, and composed poetry. The sound of their voices once drifted through the wooden screens, mingling with the cool air rising from the nearby Majia and Dongfu wells.

This peaceful routine ended during the Xianfeng period of the Qing Dynasty. Warfare and fire swept through Jianshui, reducing the original Yuan and Ming structures to ash. The smell of charred timber hung over the street. In the late Qing Dynasty, local builders returned to the ruins. They raised a new timber-frame back hall and rebuilt the Banxian Pavilion using traditional wood-and-brick techniques. These are the structures that stand today, carrying the tool marks of those late Qing craftsmen who worked to restore their neighborhood's spiritual center.

Today, the monastery and its pavilion are protected as a Honghe Prefecture-level Cultural Relic Unit, designated in September 2007. In January 2021, the provincial government recognized the surrounding area as the Donglin Monastery Street and Yinghui Road Historical and Cultural Block. Visitors walking past the old timber frames can still hear the bucket ropes scraping against the stone of the nearby wells, connecting modern Jianshui to the quiet moments of leisure Zhang Shiyuan found here centuries ago.