Erxian An

Erxian An

Erxian An is a Sichuan Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

A renowned Taoist temple, located east of Qingyang Palace in Chengdu, it is a famous Quanzhen Ten Directions Monastery and the ancestral home of the Dragon Gate Sect’s Bidong School. It is also the only Ten Directions Monastery in Southwest China qualified to conduct Taoist ordination ceremonies.

The original main buildings comprised the Grand Mountain Gate, Three Officials Hall, Bell and Drum Towers, Lüzu Hall, Erxian Hall, Jade Emperor Hall, Doumu Hall, Three Sovereigns Hall, Hundred Deities Hall, Scripture Depository, Guest Hall, and Taoist Residence. The principal structure, Lüzu Hall, once enshrined a statue of the Pure Yang Patriarch Lü Dongbin and was where major Taoist events were held. During the Kangxi era of the Qing Dynasty (1662–1722), the carved printing blocks of the Daozang Jiyao compiled by Peng Dingqiu, a scholar from Changzhou, were soon destroyed. In 1906 (the 32nd year of the Guangxu reign), the then abbot of Erxian An, Yan Yonghe, along with Peng Hanran from Xinchang, initiated the recarving of the blocks, with He Longxiang from Jianwei participating in the proofreading and adding the Daozang Jiyao Xubian (Continuation). The currently widely circulated edition of the Daozang Jiyao originates from the Erxian An version. These blocks were originally kept in the printing house within the temple but were moved to Qingyang Palace in 1961, where they remain preserved to this day. It is one of the well-known Taoist temples in Chengdu. In May 1955, Qingyang Palace and Erxian An merged their operations. By the end of the 8th Flower Festival in 1958, both sites were converted into Qingyang Palace Garden (later renamed Cultural Park), and the Taoist monks became garden workers—a situation that lasted 23 years.

In 1980, Qingyang Palace and Cultural Park were separated, as were Qingyang Palace and Erxian An. In 1984, with the implementation of religious policies, Qingyang Palace and Cultural Park were officially divided by walls, separating the two. In 2002, after multi-party consultations and the implementation of religious policy, Cultural Park was placed under the administration of the Chengdu Municipal Religious Affairs Bureau, and the main building area of Erxian An within the park was returned to Qingyang Palace, thus integrating the two temples into a single entity.

Special Notice

When visiting Erxian An, some individuals may attract tourists by offering free tours. At the entrance to the main hall, visitors can receive a zodiac card for free with their ticket, but inside the hall, you may be persuaded by attendants to buy expensive candles for lotus lanterns—please beware of potential scams.

Protected Area: Bounded by the existing perimeter wall.

Construction Control Zone: Extending 50 meters beyond the protected area.

Address: Within Qingyang Palace, No. 9, Section 2, First Ring Road West, Qingyang District, Chengdu

Type: Taoist Temple

Recommended Visit Duration: About 1 hour

Opening Hours: Follow Qingyang Palace’s opening hours

Ticket Information: No separate admission fee. Admission is included with the Qingyang Palace ticket.