Daci'en Temple, Buddhist temple in Yanta District, China

Daci'en Temple is a Buddhist temple in Yanta District, Xi'an, arranged south to north as gate, bell and drum towers, Mahavira Hall, Dharmachakra Hall, the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda and the Xuanzang Sanzang Courtyard. The seven-storey brick pagoda rises about 64.7 metres. The gate carries a blue plaque with gold characters and red pillars inscribed in gold.

The temple was founded in 648 when Prince Li Zhi built it to honor his mother, Empress Zhangsun. The complex was later rebuilt in 1466 and has shaped the city's religious life since then.

The name means "temple of maternal compassion," from Li Zhi's wish to honour his mother. Xuanzang's disciple Kuiji taught the Faxiang school here and was called "Cien Dashi." In the Tang dynasty the grounds held a large theatre for popular sermons and shows, and the temple was known for peonies celebrated in poems.

The temple sits in central Xi'an and is easy to reach; many visitors arrive in the morning when the air is fresher and the grounds are less crowded. Wearing comfortable shoes is wise since there are stairs to the pagodas and paths through the gardens.

The temple's stele collection numbers 102 stones: 15 from the Tang, 13 restoration records from the Yuan, Ming and Qing, and 73 examination-success inscriptions left by scholars who passed the imperial exams. Look for the Tang stele of the Nestorian... no, for the 唐青石蓮花紋佛座, a lotus-carved Tang stone Buddha base inscribed in 662 with Xuanzang's dedication, now a first-class national relic held in the National Museum of China.