Famen Temple

Famen Temple tickets and tours: which one to book

Famen Temple stands in the countryside of Fufeng County, about 120 km west of Xi'an, and no ticket for the temple alone is sold online. Admission to the cultural park, which takes in the modern stupa and the long processional avenue, is bought at the entrance, and on ordinary days there is no need to book. The old temple courtyards and the museum of Tang treasures sit within the same complex. Because of the distance, most visitors come on a full-day tour from Xi'an. The usual combination pairs Famen with Qianling, the hillside mausoleum of the Tang emperor Gaozong and Empress Wu Zetian, which lies roughly on the same route and is the most impressive imperial tomb in the region.

Some itineraries add Maoling, the burial mound of the Han emperor Wu, while others with a Buddhist theme combine Famen with the Terracotta Army, which makes for a very long day because the two sites lie on opposite sides of Xi'an. Day tours normally include hotel pickup, a car or minibus, an English-speaking guide and lunch; entrance tickets are included in some and charged extra in others, as is the small shuttle within the park. Travelling independently is possible by long-distance bus from Xi'an's western bus station or by taxi from Baoji or Fufeng, but it takes time and you will see much less without a guide to explain the relics.

Visiting Famen Temple: what to see and how to behave

Famen is one of the most venerated Buddhist sites in China because it guards a finger bone held to be a relic of the Buddha. A temple stood here by the Northern Wei period, and under the Tang dynasty it became an imperial monastery: emperors had the relic carried in procession to the capital seven times, each visit bringing lavish gifts. In 1981 heavy rain brought down half of the Ming brick pagoda that marked the spot, and when it was rebuilt in 1987 archaeologists opened the sealed underground crypt beneath it, untouched since the late 9th century. Inside were the finger bone relics and a hoard of Tang treasures: gold and silver reliquaries nested one inside another, an imperial tea set, rare early glass from the Islamic world and fine silks.

Many of these are shown in the museum on site, which is the reason to come for anyone interested in Tang art. The thirteen-storey brick pagoda now stands again in the old temple courtyard, flanked by halls where monks still hold services. Next to the old temple lies a vast modern park. A long avenue lined with gilded bodhisattva statues leads to the Namaste Dagoba, a huge stupa built in the shape of two hands pressed together in prayer, opened in 2009; the main relic is displayed in a chamber inside it on special occasions. The scale is overwhelming and the contrast with the old courtyards is striking. In the halls, walk quietly, do not photograph monks during prayers and keep off the cushions. Visitors circle the pagoda clockwise.

Famen Temple: opening hours, ceremonies and the best time to go

The complex is open daily from morning until late afternoon, with slightly longer hours in summer; check the current times before setting out. Leave Xi'an early: the drive takes two hours or so, and arriving in the morning gives you the quiet of the old courtyards before day-trippers fill the park. Spring and autumn are the most comfortable seasons in the Guanzhong plain. Summer is hot and the park's avenue has little shade, while winter is cold and often grey.

Avoid the national holidays in early May and early October, when the site is extremely busy. Buddhist festivals such as the Buddha's birthday in the fourth lunar month bring pilgrims and ceremonies, and are the most likely occasions to see the relic itself. Allow three to four hours to walk the avenue, see the stupa, the old temple and the museum. The natural partner for the day is Qianling, with Maoling or an evening back in Xi'an's old city.