White Horse Is Not a Horse, It's a Temple.
White Horse Temple is one of the two most famous temples in all of China, because it is the first temple of Buddhism's eastward transmission. History textbooks, whether the People's Education Press edition or other versions, must write about and study it. The stone white horse at the gate is a memory for generations. Besides Longmen Grottoes, this is a must-visit when coming to Luoyang. Since it's so famous, I won't write what others have already written.
1. Location: In the northeastern outskirts of Luoyang city, a bit far. There's a shabby bus that rattles over—a rural route with chicken and duck odors in the cabin, very Luoyang, very retro. It's said that Luoyang Metro will reach White Horse Temple next year, but I'm not sure if that's true. Suggestion: take Line 1 to the terminus, then take a taxi.
2. Opening hours: 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM. On Buddha's birthday, you can offer incense at any time. Visitors are not only tourists but also many who come to pray and make wishes. After all, it's the ancestral temple—how could it not be efficacious? At least you have to think that way.
3. Price: 35 RMB. Compared to Master Yongxin's 80 RMB for Shaolin Temple, this is a conscience price, probably considering the faithful.
4. Features:
(1) Buddhist culture. As the ancestral temple, the temple may be small, but its culture cannot be low—after all, it has the longest history. Besides the basic temple structures, there are three main highlights: First, the stone white horse statues. The two iconic statues at the gate, with heads lowered and eyes downcast, very endearing, with 1,000 years of history. They were moved from the Song Dynasty imperial tombs in Gongyi County, Zhengzhou City; the originals were already destroyed. Second, the Buddhist culture exhibition corridor, which displays all the classic Buddhist stories you can imagine through paintings and explanations—you can learn something there, and I like that. Third, the Buddha statues made with the dry lacquer technique invented in the Yuan Dynasty—simply put, a manufacturing technique that prevents insect damage, keeps a glossy color, and is easy to preserve. This technique has been lost. Such statues are in the Mahavira Hall, but you can't enter to see them—you can only imagine. Fourth, the Qingliang Terrace (Cooling Terrace), where the two Indian pioneers Kasyapa Matanga and Dharmaratna dried the sutras when Buddhism first arrived. I guess because drying keeps them cool, it's called Cooling Terrace. The three characters carved on the lintel date from the Eastern Han Dynasty.
(2) White Horse Temple Exhibition Hall. It's right next to Qingliang Terrace—not the exact name, but that's the content. It mainly tells its glorious history and also has some Buddha statue exhibitions. The highlight is the achievements of Abbot Yinyue in managing White Horse Temple. You could call him a thinner version of Master Yongxin. Under his management, White Horse Temple is thriving and raking in money daily, restoring its glory after a thousand years, with the Buddha's light shining brighter. Seeing his friendly group photo with Yongxin sitting side by side at a celebration, I'd like to call them the twin jewels of Henan's religious circle—one literary, one martial; one tall, one thin—growing bigger and stronger, creating brilliance anew.
(3) Foreign temples. Given its status as the ancestral temple, White Horse Temple should be the top seat for Chinese Buddhism's international exchange. Therefore, many countries have built their own Buddhist temples in the White Horse Temple International Park, allowing you to see temple architecture from many countries without leaving. Mainly India, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, etc., surrounding White Horse Temple like stars around the moon. The most distinctive is Myanmar, with a replica of the Golden Rock and Naga statues—familiar to anyone who has played World of Warcraft. The Indian temple has a corn harvest; when I went, many tourists were helping to pick corn, and it even became a trending topic on Weibo. Overall, it's worth a look—at least for 35 RMB you see so many halls, much more cost-effective than Shaolin Temple.
(4) Qiyun Pagoda. Outside White Horse Temple, you need to walk a bit to reach it. It was rebuilt in the Jin Dynasty after the Eastern Han collapsed, also nearly a thousand years old. It's worth mentioning that right next to the pagoda is the tomb of Di Renjie, Lord Di—very inconspicuous, but this person has a huge reputation. Still worth a look; after all, so many TV dramas weren't made for nothing. Luoyang is a great place: Longmen buries Bai Juyi, White Horse Temple buries Di Renjie—they were big hands in long-term investments.
Five stars—great value for money. You can spend a whole day at one temple. Except for inconvenient transportation, everything else is great, much better than trash Longmen. PS. Not far from here is the Erlitou site, the ancient capital of the Xia dynasty—if you have a chance, you can go.
