Xingjiao Temple

Xingjiao Temple in Xi'an (Chinese: ?????)

Brief Introduction
Xingjiao Temple is a well-known Buddhist temple, located in Chang'an, Xi'an. Xingjiao Temple was built in AD 669, holds the remains of Xuanzang, who is a famous Chinese monk who traveled to India to retrieve Buddhist scriptures in the seventh century and inspired epic Chinese classical novel Journey to the West. The five-storied Buddhist relic pagoda, many relics of Xuanzang are well preserved inside the temple, along with the pagodas of his disciples, Kuiji and Yuance. Since his ashes are covered in a tall brick pagoda, the temple is regarded as his burial place. Emperor Tang Suzong wrote two characters "Xing Jiao (Flourishing Teaching)" on the stupa, which means that Buddhism would flourish by inheriting Xuanzang's achievement, Hence it, the temple used the present name Xingjiao Temple, means the Temple of the Flouring Teaching. 

The History of Xingjiao Temple
This temple was built in 669 AD with 1300 years history by Tang Gaozong,when Emperor Gaozong had the tomb of Xuanzang moved there and a temple and a pagoda built in memory of this great Buddhist master as well as a great Buddhist translator and traveler of the Tang Dynasty. Although the original Tang Dynasty stone pagoda is still standing, the temple was burnt to the ground at Tongzhi years in Qing Dynasty. Then it was rebuilt during the period of the Republic of China, landscaped with the Zhongnan Mountain and the Fanchuan River, the temple is in a very pleasant setting.

What to see in Xingjiao Temple

The scnery in Xingjiao Temple with the Zhongnan Mountain and Fanchuan River is in a pleasant location. In ancient Fanchuan, it's one of the Eight Great Temple, it looks very grand inside the temple because of it's palaces and pagodas. The temple contains the Bell and Drum Towers, a front gate hall, a Mahavira Hall, a preaching hall, a meditation chamber, and monks' dormitories. 

You can pay a visit to the Mahavira Hall( Daxiongbaodian), where there is a bronze statue sits in the middle, which is the founder of the Buddhism, Sakyamuni. Also in front of it are three pagodas, the Xuanzang Pagoda is the famous among these pagodas. The Xuanzang Pagoda in the center of the cluster is a 13-meter-high, five-story structure with a statue of Xuanzang enshrined on the ground floor, a plaque tells his life story. The other two pagodas, they are same size in height, five meters, the pagoda of Xunzang's disciples, Yuance and Kuiji. In back of the Sermon Hall has a palace, named Sleeping Buddha Palace, inside the palace is a state of Sleeping Buddha with length of 9 meters. On the west side of the temple is a pavilion, is a place to keep thousands of buddhisit scriptures about different dynasties. 

The temple is in possession of more than 10,000 volumes of Buddhist canons, and many other precious cultural artifacts. A series of stone tablets in it are inscribed with the full text of the Diamond Sutra. It's a famous buddhist site in China and  It's an ideal tourist destination for Buddhist followers and those who worship the master Xuanzang.

Information

1.Opening Hours: 08:00-17:00
2. Admission Fee: free
3.Time for Visit: 1-2 hours
4.Transportation:Take No.917 from Xian Television Tower and get off at Xingjiao Temple.