Temple of the Eight Immortals, Taoist temple in Xi'an, China

The Temple of the Eight Immortals is a Taoist sanctuary in Xi'an featuring multiple pavilions that house statues of the eight deities. The structures display traditional Chinese architecture with intricate wooden carvings on ceilings and walls, along with painted scenes from mythology.

The temple stands on part of the Tang-dynasty Xingqing Palace site, but it was founded in the Song dynasty, when locals built a Thunder God shrine after hearing underground thunder. It grew in the early Yuan as the Quanzhen school expanded, and in 1805 Emperor Jiaqing added Lü Dongbin to the state cult. In 1900 Empress Dowager Cixi and Emperor Guangxu stayed here and granted the name "Imperial Wan Shou Baxian Gong".

The name Baxian An comes from a Song-era story: eight strangers seen feasting in the Thunder God Temple were taken for the Eight Immortals. A stone tablet outside reads "Chang'an Wine Shop", marking where Zhongli Quan is said to have enlightened Lü Dongbin. The temple is the seat of the Shaanxi Taoist Association.

The temple lies outside the Changle Gate in the Changlegong area east of Xi'an's old city. Enter through the five-bay gate hall and follow the north-south axis through three courtyards; the east and west side halls lead to the Lu Zu and Qiu Zu halls. On the bridge inside the gate, visitors throw coins through the square holes of two hanging bronze coins to strike the bells, a practice called "striking the coin's eye."

Each of the eight deities is represented with different symbolic objects, ranging from a sword blade to a flower basket, each representing distinct virtues or abilities. Visitors can try to identify these attributes and learn more about the personal story of each figure.