White Horse Temple, also known as Baima Temple 白马寺 in Chinese, was founded in 68 AD and was built by the government after Buddhism was introduced to China. It has always been revered as the "ancestral home" and "source of Buddhist teachings" in China. It is said that the name of the temple was derived from the allusion of "White Horse Carrying Scripture".
Tourists enter the temple through the mountain gate. The mountain gate was built in the Ming Dynasty, and the stone carved horses on both sides of the gate are relics from the Song Dynasty. In the third level hall, the Daxiong Hall, there is a "treasure of the White Horse Temple" - the Yuan Dynasty "carved with dry lacquer". There are still more than 40 steles from various dynasties since the Tang Dynasty preserved in Baima Temple, and the "Record of the Ancestral Court of Baima Temple in Luojing" handwritten by Zhao Mengfu, a calligrapher from the Yuan Dynasty, is quite precious.
About 200 meters southeast of Shanmen Gate, there is a Qiyun Pagoda, which was built in the Eastern Han Dynasty and renovated in the Jin Dynasty. It is one of the few ancient Jin Dynasty buildings in the Central Plains region.
Now, a new "World Buddhist Hall Expo Area" has been built next to the White Horse Temple to showcase Buddhist halls with styles from countries such as India, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Myanmar, Japan, and South Korea.
Travel Tips
Address: No. 6 Luobai Road, Baimasi Town, Chanhe District, Luoyang City, Henan Province
Telephone: 0379-63781065,0379-63789090
Opening hours: 4/1-10/7 07:40-18:40; 10/8-3/31 08:00-17:30
Entrane Fees: CNY 35