Green Dragon Temple

Green Dragon Temple is located 3km southeast of Xi'an city. It is a famous Buddhist Temple from the Tang Dynasty (618-907). The temple was originally named Lingan Temple (Temple of Inspiration) when it was built in 582 and later in 711 during the Tang Dynasty renamed Green Dragon Temple. The temple was destroyed in 1086 and the present one was reconstructed in 1963.

Green Dragon Temple is the ancestor temple of Tantra sect of Japan Buddhism. In the early and middle 9th Century, some Japanese monks were sent to China to study Buddhism. Six of them studied at Green Dragon Temple, and this led to a flourishing period of the temple. Among them, Kukai was the most learned. He became the sitting master of the sixth generation of the Tantra sect of Buddhism and made great progress in learning Buddhist sutras, Sanskrit, poems and Chinese calligraphy. When he returned to Japan, he brought back with him Chinese painting and drawing, sculpture, architecture, medicine and farming techniques, enriching the cultural exchanges between China and Japan. He also built a Vagra Temple (Vagra means Buddhist Warrior Attendant) and founded the Zhenyan Sect (the True Word Sect) after his return.

Monk Kukai also In 1982, a memorial monument of Konghai was built at the ruins of the original Green Dragon Temple in memory of Monk Kukai. In 1982, Kukai Monument was constructed inside the Green Dragon Temple. Green Dragon Temple is also a place where the cherry blossoms can be enjoyed.