# Caotang Temple (草堂寺)

Xi'an, Shaanxi Province · Northwest, China · Guidebook rating: 3/5
Canonical: https://cnatrip.com/en/places/caotang-temple
Language: en

## Key facts

- **Admission:** Free
- **Opening hours:** 8：30—17：00
- **Time needed:** 1–3 hours
- **Getting there:** From the Nanguan Bus Station outside Zhuque Gate in Xi'an, take a minibus bound for Huyi District and get off at Caotang Temple. On weekends, you can also take Huanshan Line 1 from the North Square of the Big Wild Goose Pagoda and get off at Caotang Temple.
- **Good for:** Temples

## About Caotang Temple

A modest temple at the foot of Guifeng Mountain, 30 km southeast of the urban area of Huyi District. Most of its buildings were rebuilt in modern times. Its most distinctive feature is the Stupa of Kumarajiva, the Yao Qin Sanzang (Tripitaka Master), which was built to commemorate the Kuchean monk Kumarajiva and is dated to the Tang dynasty. The stupa is 2.33 metres tall, has eight sides and twelve storeys, and is inlaid with jade and stone in eight colours: jade white, brick green, ink black, cream yellow, pale red, light blue, ochre and purple. This gives it the name 'Eight-Treasure Jade Stupa'. The Japanese Nichiren sect regards Caotang Temple as its ancestral temple, and its followers visit every year.

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Source: China Self-Guided Travel 2025 (《中国自助游》, Tianjin Science & Technology Press, Aug 2024), p. 643. Prices, hours and transport details are as printed in the August 2024 edition and may have changed. Always confirm with the venue before you travel.
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