Xi Chan Temple
Xi Chan Temple was built during The Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD), and situated in the Yishan Fengwei village, western part of Fuzhou. Xi Chan Temple is one of the Five Great Temple of Fuzhou, along with Yong Quan Temple in Drum Mountain, Chongfu Temple in Elephant Peak, Chongsheng Temple in Snow Peak, and Linyang Temple in Rui Peak.
Xi Chan Temple is an extraordinary Buddhist Temple, with extensive grounds and symmetric layout covering about 67 ha area, including 36 large and small buildings. The major attractions inside Xi Chan Temple are Hall of 500 Arhats, The Great Hall of the Buddha, and the Hall of Deities. That three architectures was built during the eighth year reign of Emperor Xiang Tong in the Tang Dynasty.
The Hall of 500 Arhats is magnificent building with amazing craftmanship in every detail, it's a six-levels and eye catching architecture (visitors of Xi Chan Temple could see this building from far distance). During your visit to Hall of 500 Arhats, you are allowed to go all the way up to the top, and most floors have outdoor walkways around the terrace, allowing for fantastic photos of the grounds and Fuzhou vicinity. Down below this building, towards the exit, there is a small turtle pond with very large fish in it. Just beyond that is a small lake with a superb Banyan tree to sit under and enjoy is long reaching shading branches.
Inside the temple consists some ancient relics, including imperial handwriting of Emperor Kangxi and murals of Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Xichan temple also known for its lichee trees that were planted since Song Dynasty. There are three gift shops around Xi Chan Temple, one outside the main gate and two inside the grounds. Visitors may try vegetarian cuisines in restaraunt nearby.