Famen Temple, renowned for storing the veritable Finger Bone of the Sakyamuni Buddha, is located in Fufeng County of Shaanxi Province, 120km east of Xi’an and 96km west of Baoji. With a history of 1,700 years, it is considered the "Forerunner of the Ziggurat in Central Shaanxi." The Famen Temple Cultural Scenic Area comprises four sectors including the Temple Gate Square, Foguang Avenue, Famen Temple, and the Namaste Dagoba. Upon completion the scenic area will be the "No. 2 Cultural Symbol of Shaanxi", second only to the Terra-Cotta Warriors and Horses. It will stand out as a world-class cultural scenic area featuring the "Time-honored Buddhist Holy Land and Age-old Classic Buddhist Site."

Four Gates

Between Temple Gate Square and Foguang Avenue stand four gates, Foguang Gate, Prajna Gate, Bodhi Gate and Perfect Wisdom Gate. Foguang Gate is where the light of Buddha is said to deliver all beings from torment and guide them to the Buddhist Faramita. Inside the Foguang Gate are two still water pools known as the "Heart-Pacifying Pools." As a sacred symbol of Buddhism, the lotus flower living in mud, but not stained by it, signifies the purity of Buddhists in the impure material world. Prajna refers to the great wisdom of Buddhism. The Prajna Gate means that during Buddhist medication, only by observing the guidance from prajna, can perfect wisdom and the most supreme Buddhist enlightenment be achieved. Bodhi means enlightenment and wisdom. By passing through the Bodhi, one can awaken to Buddha dharma and reach superior Buddhist thought. The architectural design of the Perfect Wisdom Gate, which consists of gateposts only, shows the Buddha dharma that is attained by observing sunyata (the nature of the void). So, the Perfect Wisdom Gate is also called "Gate of Sunyata."

Foguang Avenue

Covering an area of 140,000sq km, Foguang Avenue is 1230m long and 108m wide. As the main axis, it divides the Scenic Area into the Western Section and the Eastern Section. The Eastern Section, named "Famous Site of Buddha", displays the whole process from birth to nirvana of Sakyamuni. The Western Section, named "Source of Buddhist Realm", exhibits the great advance of Buddhism ever since Sakyamuni achieved nirvana. Along the Foguang Avenue are ten statues of well-known Bodhisattva.

Namaste Dagoba

Namaste Dagoba was completed on May 9, 2009 after construction for 3 years. The Namaste Dagoba is used to enshrine the only relic of Sakyamuni's finger bone in the world. The full height of the dagoba is 148m. The numbers "148" were chosen because the "1", symbolizes that the Buddha does not differ from all other beings. The Buddha is only the awakened being while other beings are yet to be enlightened. The "4" and "8" denote the 8th day of the 4th lunar month, the birthday of Buddha. The architectural design of Namaste Dagoba represents the Buddhist thought of unification, concord harmony and peace. The one and only relic of Sakyamuni's finger bone in the world was enshrined in the underground palace in the Namaste Dagoba. The finger bone is brought up to the first floor at the Namaste Dagoba on the 1st day and 15th day of each lunar month plus Saturdays and Sundays for tourists and devotees to pay homage.

1. Basic info

Address: Fufeng County, Baoji

Ticket: March 1 to November 30: CNY120 (for Famen Temple Museum and Namaste Dagoba)

December 1 to next February 28/29: CNY 90

* Children between 3.9 and 4.6 feet (1.2 -1.4 meters) enjoy 50 percent discount.

Time: March 1 to November 30: 08:30 to 19:00

December 1 to next February 28/29: 09:00 to 18:00

2. Transportation

1. Take Tourist Bus No.2 at Xi'an Railway Station, get off at Famensi Museum station. The bus departs at 08:00 and back at 15:00. Bus ticket is CNY25.

2. Take Long-distance Bus at Xi'an West Bus Station.

3. Take Long-distance Bus bound for Fufeng County at Xi'an West Bus Station and then change to the bus bound for Famen Temple.

4. Visitors holding valid entrance ticket of the temple can take free single trip on tourist bus "Sheng Tang Zhi Lü" from the west gate of the Tang Paradise; combined ticket of Famen Temple and Tang Paradise for free round trip of "Sheng Tang Zhi Lü" Bus. The buses depart at 08:00, 09:00, 10:00 and 11:00 and return at 15:00, 15:30, 16:00 and 16:30.