# Famen Temple (法门寺)

Baoji, Shaanxi Province · Northwest, China · Guidebook rating: 4/5
Canonical: https://cnatrip.com/en/places/famen-temple
Language: en

## Key facts

- **Admission:** ¥100 (peak season), ¥90 (off season)
- **Time needed:** 2–4 hours
- **Getting there:** Shuttle buses run daily from the west gate of Daming Furong Garden in Xi'an and from Chengxi Bus Station. There are several daily shuttle buses to the scenic area from Baoji West Bus Station.
- **Good for:** History & Culture, Temples

## About Famen Temple

Famen Temple is about 120 km from Xi'an. Originally called Ayuwang Temple, it was renamed Famen Temple in the early Tang dynasty. It is a historic Buddhist temple and houses a finger bone relic of Shakyamuni Buddha in its pagoda, earning it the reputation of “the ancestor of pagodas and temples in Guanzhong”. In 1981, half of the pagoda collapsed. During its reconstruction in 1986, a Tang-dynasty underground palace was discovered. It measures about 21 metres long and covers 31.84 square metres, and is the largest underground structure found to date that houses Buddhist relics. Four relics and a large number of precious Tang-dynasty cultural relics were unearthed from it.
Inscriptions in the underground palace record that the Buddha finger bone relic had been kept in the foundation of the Famen Temple pagoda. Emperor Gaozong of the Tang dynasty once welcomed the relic to Luoyang, and Empress Wu Zetian also invited it to be enshrined in the Hall of Light she had built. The Famen Temple Museum, located on the west side of the temple, displays more than 300 exhibits, including Buddhist scriptures, stone steles, porcelain, glassware, tea sets, ritual objects, gold and silver ware, the eight-layer treasure boxes, and the Hu-gate-throne jade coffin, among other rare treasures.

## Tips from the guidebook

- Famen Temple is much closer to Baoji and Xianyang than to Xi'an, so it is best not to backtrack. After visiting Xi'an and Xianyang, head west to Famen Temple, then continue to Baoji and make your return journey from there. Shaanxi is known as “Eastern Xi'an and Western Baoji”, which reflects Baoji's important position in the province. Its handicrafts and folk customs are considered classic examples of Shaanxi culture.
- Famen Temple: The Buddha's finger bone relic is only open to the public on the 1st and 15th days of each lunar month, on weekends and on major public holidays, from 10:00 to 16:00.

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Source: China Self-Guided Travel 2025 (《中国自助游》, Tianjin Science & Technology Press, Aug 2024), p. 659. 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.
Site: China Trip (https://cnatrip.com) — independent China travel guide in 13 languages.