Famen Temple

In China, many temples house treasures and artifacts, but the sheer quantity and quality of treasures in the Famen Temple is rare. Situated in Famen Town of Fufeng County, about 120 kilometers (about 74.57 miles) west of Xian, Famen Temple is renowned for storing the veritable Finger Bone of the Sakyamuni Buddha.

Famen Temple was established in the Eastern Han Dynasty (25--220), for carrying forward Buddhism. The most representative structures in the temple are the Famen Temple Pagoda and Famen Temple Museum.

At the center of the temple is the 13-tiered octagonal pagoda under which it is said, a sliver of the finger bone of Sakyamuni buried. In 1981, subsidence of the pagoda led to reconstruction, during which, an Underground Palace was discovered unexpectedly in 1987. Many royal treasures and jewellery were found here-more than 2,000 pieces surrounded the Tang mandala (geometric designs, usually circular, symbolizing the universe). The most precious one is the veritable Finger Bone of the Sakyamuni Buddha. At present, this is the biggest Buddhist underground palace so far discovered. From the grand architectural style, it is said to have been established in the Tang Dynasty (618-907). But why, and how such precious treasures were stored under the pagoda. Tracing back to a most flourishing time in Chinese history, formerly, Famen Temple was the royal temple during the Sui Dynasty (581-618) and Tang Dynasty. Emperors in Sui and Tang believed that enshrining and worshiping the bone of Sakyamuni would bring riches and peace to the land and its people. So an offering of treasure to the finger bone was made, it was housed in the Underground Palace.

Due to the appropriate collection and further expounding of the cultural connotations of the treasures to the public, the Famen Temple Museum was established in 1987, which includes most of the precious treasures from the Tang Dynasty removed from Underground Palace, including gold and silverware, colored glaze ware, porcelain and silks. Owing to more and more tourists and their curiosity to the relics, two new exhibition halls were established in 2000. The exhibition area expanded from 500 square meters to 3,000 square meters, which well caters for the interest of tourists.

Nowadays, Famen Temple, which is the most famous Buddhist temple, plays a sovereign role in Chinese Buddhism, and appeals to tourists from all over the world.

Temple of Heaven

Temple of Heaven or Tiantan was built along a north-south, celestial, axis lie the building where the Ming and Qing emperors came four times a year to offer sacrifices to the Gods and to Pray. The great complex of the Temple of Heaven is in 273 hectares of stunning forest, and this alone makes it an unusual place (line upon line of Chinese cypress, Chinese juniper and scholar trees). Some of the them are more than 600 years old so you must see then. If you can look the temple from the air, you would see that the temple are all round, and the bases of them are all square. This is due to the Chinese belief that heaven was round and the earth was square.

Some parts in Temple of Heaven are :

1. Echo Wall - The circular wall surrounding the Imperial Vault of Heaven is 193.2 meters long, 3.7 meters high and 0.9 meter thick. If one speaks against the wall at one end, another can hear his voice at the other end of it (there tend to be a lot of visitors all trying it out at the same time, so be patient).
2. A Bird's View - The main buildings on a central axis (from top to bottom): Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest, Imperial Vault of Heaven and Circular Mound Altar.
3. Heart of Heavenly Stone - The stone placed in the center of the top tier of the Circular Mound Altar. Around it there are nine circles, each with nine stones, altogether 3,402 pieces. They are of identical size and appearance and put closely together. They have remained intact during the past several hundred years. When people stand on the Heart of Heavenly Stone and shout echoes will be heard.
   
4. Circular Mount Altar - Also known as Heaven Mound Altar, it is five meters high and of three tiers. Around each tier there are white marble balusters. During the Ming and Qing dynasties in early winter the emperor would come to this mound to pay homage to heaven and pray for peace and a good harvest.
   
5. Hall of Abstinence - The hall on a white marble foundation is of bricks without any pillar or beam. Bronze statues, a stone pavilion and a stone pavilion with a sundial are in front of the hall.
   
6. Left Parlor of the Main Hall of Abstinence - Displayed in this room are a set of jade chimes, musical bells and sacrificial objects used by the emperor for the ceremony.
   
7. Sweet Spring Well - The water from the well in the compound of the Divine Kitchen tastes sweet. It was used to make soup for the sacrificial ritual. Taoists in the Ming Dynasty said the well was connected with heaven. Emperor Zhu Houzong believed it and named the well "Heavenly Well".
   
8. Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest - Also known as Qigu Hall, it was the spot where the emperor of the Ming and Qing dynasties prayed for good harvest in spring. The umbrella-like structure of three tiers stands on a six-meter-high white marble circular terrace and is 32 meters high and 24.2 meters around at the base.
   
9. Double-Circle Longevity Pavilion - The pavilion was originally built in 1741 by Emperor Qian Long to celebrate his Mother's 50th birthday in the Imperial Palace. In 1977 it was relocated in a cypress grove on the western side of the hall of prayer for Good Harvest. It is a master piece of wooden structures from ancient times.