[April 25, 2013, Xi'an] To welcome the upcoming May Day holiday, the Famen Temple Cultural Scenic Area in Shaanxi will hold a three-day Blessing Culture Festival starting April 29. This festival consists of a variety of Buddhist cultural experience activities, aiming to provide visitors with a platform to learn about the history of Chinese Buddhist culture and to experience a Zen-inspired lifestyle focused on spiritual and mental cultivation.
With the May Day holiday approaching, the Famen Temple Cultural Scenic Area offers modern urban dwellers who wish to slow down and find inner peace the ultimate "rest and rejuvenation" experience. Its carefully curated Blessing Culture Festival for the Golden Week includes grand blessing and consecration ceremonies, Buddhist music appreciation, Famen Temple Zen tea sessions, children’s painting activities, Buddhist film screenings, vegetarian cuisine experiences, and handicraft exhibitions. Through these diverse Buddhist cultural events, visitors can explore a balanced lifestyle that pursues harmony between the spiritual and material, leading to greater physical and mental well-being.
Relying on its profound Buddhist and Zen cultural heritage and resources, the Famen Temple Cultural Scenic Area integrates meditative retreat experiences with leisure tourism, allowing visitors to relax both physically and mentally while replenishing their lives with positive energy. This type of travel that emphasizes a “journey of the soul” aligns more closely with the characteristics of our times and better meets the needs of modern people seeking rest and relaxation. It is gradually becoming a new direction for the development of tourism products.
Travel Guide
Ticket: A single-ticket system is in place, allowing entry to three attractions within the Famen Temple Scenic Area: the Hand-in-Hand Sarira Pagoda, the Famen Temple Monastery, and the Famen Temple Museum.
Opening Hours: 8:00–18:00 daily.
Event Period: April 29–May 1, 2013.
Famen Temple Cultural Scenic Area
The Famen Temple Cultural Scenic Area is a renowned Buddhist cultural destination in China, located in Famen Town, 10 kilometers north of Fufeng County, Baoji City, Shaanxi Province. Built around the ancient Famen Temple, it is a national AAAA-level scenic spot. The area encompasses the grand culture of Buddhism, the imperial culture of the Tang Dynasty, and the folk culture of the Guanzhong region, making it an ideal spot for leisure travel. Major attractions include the Hand-in-Hand Sarira Pagoda, the Famen Temple Monastery, and the Famen Temple Museum.
Famen Temple was first built during the Hengling era of the late Eastern Han Dynasty, dating back over 1,700 years, and is known as the “ancestor of pagoda-temples in the Guanzhong region.” The Famen Temple Museum displays exquisite cultural relics unearthed from the temple’s Tang Dynasty pagoda crypt, many of which were offerings to the temple by the Tang imperial family and Buddhist artifacts. The underground chamber of the Hand-in-Hand Sarira Pagoda enshrines the sacred Buddhist relic—the finger bone sarira of Sakyamuni Buddha—making it a holy site revered by monks and laypeople alike.