Qinglong Temple (Xi'an)

A cradle of esoteric Buddhism, Qinglong Temple, the Green Dragon Temple, stands on the Leyou Plateau in the southeast of Xi'an and holds an outsized place in the religious history of East Asia. Founded in the Sui dynasty and flourishing under the Tang, it became the great teaching centre for Tangmi, the tantric school of Chinese Buddhism, and drew students from across the Buddhist world.

Its most celebrated pilgrim was Kukai, the Japanese monk also known as Kobo Daishi, who studied here in the early ninth century under the master Huiguo before returning home to found the Shingon school. That link makes the temple a place of enduring devotion for Japanese Buddhists, and much of the present complex, rebuilt in the twentieth century after the medieval buildings were lost, reflects Sino-Japanese friendship, including a memorial hall dedicated to Kukai.

The temple is loveliest in spring, when cherry trees, many of them gifts from Japan, blossom across the grounds and turn the hillside pink. The combination of quiet halls, incense and flowering avenues gives Qinglong a gentler, more meditative feel than Xi'an's grander monuments, and it remains a working site of worship rather than a crowded showpiece.

For visitors, the temple offers a rewarding half-day that pairs history with atmosphere, and admission is modest. The cherry blossom season, usually late March into April, is by far the busiest and most beautiful time, so an early arrival helps. It sits a little away from the old city but is reachable by metro and taxi, and works well combined with the Big Wild Goose Pagoda area to the west for a day of Tang-era exploration. Photographers and pilgrims alike linger longest here during the fleeting weeks of blossom.