The Green Dragon Temple is another important attraction in Xian, which is located in the south eastern suburbs of the city. It was originally known by the name ‘the Linggan Temple’ and was set up in 528 AD. The name was changed to its present name in 711 AD.
Chinese Buddhism gained most of its prosperity at the time of the Tang Dynasty and this temple too flourished during the middle of this time. Besides influencing Chinese Buddhism, it also led to the development of the Japanese religion, because of which it attracts Japanese tourists in great numbers.
Numerous Japanese monks including Yuanzhen, Konghai, Yuanren, Yuanxing, Huiyun and Zongrui, six of the most prominent monks from Japan, visited China during the ninth century to study Buddhism in the Green Dragon Temple.
Among these monks, Konghai established Japanese Shingon Buddhism after going back to his country. Since then this temple became a holy place for the Japanese, being the key ancestor of Japanese Shingon Buddhism.
Reconstruction of the Green Dragon Temple was done in the year 1963 on the same site. Today people visiting this temple explore the Huiguo and Konghai Memorial Hall, which are the architectures in which the Japanese invested, along with some cultural relics, which were excavated locally.
April is considered as the best time to visit this temple because of the colourful cherry blossom.
Timing: 09:00 am to 05:00 pm Admission fees: INR 68.7
INR 109.9 during the Cherry Blossom Period (Mar.12-Apr.20)
