The Underground Temple
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Sightseeing
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- jbrown [10,407]
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Address:
West Side of Big Goose Pagoda
south of city wall
Xian,
Shaanxi
China
710061
Phone:
(86-029) 553-1627
Price:
Inexpensive
Description:
Possibly the most unusual tourist attraction in Xian. While the famous Big Goose pagoda commemorates the Tang dynasty monk Xuan Zang, the undervisited underground temple on the pagoda's west side promises to tell "the real story" of the monk's life.
What makes the underground temple so unusual it that it is built inside of a sprawling former bomb shelter which was later used to hide religious artifacts from red guards during the cultural revolution. Many of these are still there.
The complex is vast, dimly lit and sprawls for a few kilometers. Admission is 15 RMB, and there's enough down there to keep you busy for at least an hour or two.
below - entrance to the underground temple
Published on 11/2/03
