Jade Buddha Temple is named after its two exquisite milk-white jade Buddha statues brought back to China from Burma (Myanmar) by a Chinese monk Huigen in 1882. The statues were brought to Shanghai in 1918 after the temple was completed.

The temple is one of Shanghai's few active Buddhist temples attracting large numbers of local people and tourists, it is a spiritual oasis in the midst of a modern metropolis. During the Spring Festival (usually falls in January or February), about 20,000 Chinese Buddhists come to worship.