Located 3 kilometers (about 1.87 miles) southeast of Xian city, Green Dragon Temple used to be one of the most famous temples in the Tang dynasty (618 - 907 A.D.). First built in 582 during the Sui dynasty (581 - 618 A.D.), the temple was originally named Lingan Temple (Temple of Inspiration) and later in 711 during the Tang dynasty renamed Qinglong Temple (Green Dragon Temple). The temple was destroyed in 1086 and the present one was the product of restoration.

Green Dragon Temple is the ancestor temple of Tantra sect of Japan Buddhism, and the holy temple for Japanese. In the early and middle 9th century, large quantities of Japanese monks were sent to China to study Buddhism scriptures. Among the well-known "eight monks entering the Tang", six once studied Buddhism in Green Dragon Temple, in which Monk Kukai was the most famous one.

Monk Kukai was born in Japan in 774 A.D. In the summer of 804, he arrived at the Green Dragon Temple to study, becoming the sitting master of the sixth generation of the Tantra sect of Buddhism. Monk Kukai made a great achievement in Buddhism, poem, Sanskrit, calligraphy and other aspects. After he returned to Japan in 806 A.D., he built Diamond Temple and, on the base of Chinese Buddhism, founded the Japanese Tantra sect.

Monk Kukai also brought back with him Chinese painting and drawing, sculpture, architecture, medicine and farming techniques, enriching the cultural exchanges between China and Japan. In 1982, a memorial monument of Konghai was built at the ruins of the original Green Dragon Temple in memory of Monk Kukai.

Admission: 20 (RMB)