No. 41: Caotang Temple, Xi'an, Shaanxi

(This article was published in the Shenzhen Daily on November 5, 2012.)

This pavilion (阁) holds a relic (舍利子) said to be the tongue of Kumarajiva
(鸠摩罗什) at Caotang Temple (草堂寺), Xi'an, Shaanxi (陕西, 西安市).

October 15, 2010 - After the grueling climb down from Jingye Temple, I began walking the two kilometers down to where the bus had dropped me and the "black taxis" were waiting. Before I had gone far, another car came by and whisked me to the intersection for a reasonable price.

The drivers there offered to take me onward to Caotang Temple for only 30 renminbi--not a bad price, but more than the 2 renminbi I paid for the bus that arrived shortly. It dropped me a pleasant 15-minute walk from the gate, and voila! I arrived at Caotang ("Straw Hut") Temple before 3 p.m.