Norihiko Dan was the architect for an expansion project of the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport in Taipei. Provided to China Daily

"The new temple will have purely modern architecture, not just imitate the old one. That's the challenge," Dan says.

While the proposal is still in its early stages and the detailed sketch is still to be made, Dan has been drawing inspiration from Zen poems, and he has a clear vision of how the temple will serve the local community.

"It should be a space where people can meditate, touch the nature of Zen and refresh. I hope it's not just for people who believe in Buddhism but also for a much larger number of citizens."

Singaporean Evi Sari, creative director of the Beijing-based Tim Yip Studio, first recommended Dan to the abbot of the temple after Tim Yip, the Oscar-winning art director, was asked to be the design consultant of the project. Sari was impressed by Dan's efficient and eco-friendly expansion scheme for the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport in Taipei when she was working for an architecture magazine in Taiwan, which co-hosted the design bidding for the airport project.

"For a place like Meishan that has so much natural beauty, Dan's architectural concept would fit very well. The idea of a modern temple is very new for everybody, so we are still figuring out what they want and what Mr Dan can do. It's a very meaningful project to him, not just as an architect but also as a Sino-Japanese ambassador and as a Buddhist."

Dan's family has a long history with China. His great-grandfather Takuma Dan, the then director-general of the Mitsui Group, was assassinated in 1932 by rightist-wing fanatics because he was against Japanese invasion into China.