Famen means the gate of dharma. The temple was founded in the Eastern Han dynasty and its pagoda, built to enshrine a relic of the Buddha, drew imperial patronage throughout the Tang. Emperors travelled here in procession to receive the relic, and the court donated treasures so lavish that the temple became a byword for imperial piety.
The discovery
In 1987, while clearing the collapsed Ming-dynasty brick pagoda, archaeologists found a sealed underground palace beneath it. The chamber had been closed at the end of the Tang dynasty and never reopened. Inside were more than two thousand objects, including gold and silver vessels, silk textiles, glassware from the Islamic world, and a set of nested caskets surrounding a finger-bone relic. The excavations are among the most important Chinese archaeological finds of the twentieth century.
What you see now
A modern pagoda has been built over the site, and the underground palace itself can be entered. The excavated treasures are displayed in the museum halls, where the Tang gold and silver work, the imported glass and the layered reliquary caskets are the highlights. The relic is enshrined in the new reliquary hall, and the surrounding complex has grown into a large pilgrimage and museum site.
Practical notes
The temple is about two hours by road from Xi'an, making it a full-day trip, often combined with the Qianling Mausoleum or with a transfer west toward Tianshui. Allow three hours at the site. The museum halls are air-conditioned and comfortable; the walk between the entrance, the old pagoda and the new halls is long, so wear comfortable shoes and take water in summer.
