Louguantai (楼观台) is named after the Zhou Dynasty, where the ancient sage Laozi composed the “Tao Te Ching,” consisting of 5,000 words, and built a platform on the southern highland to teach his doctrine. The area is surrounded by numerous Taoist temples, rich in Taoist culture. The forest park features a vertical distribution of plants, with unique mountains, beautiful forests, and secluded valleys, providing a wild and natural charm.
The Louguantai Taoist Cultural Exhibition Area serves as a cultural tourism site, focusing on earth landscapes and ecologically efficient agriculture. Major attractions in the exhibition area include the Caishen Hall, Wendaoge Pavilion, Zhao Clan Ancestral Hall, Grand Stage, Tianxia Diyi Fudi (the world’s first blessed land), Three Palaces, Laojun Hall, Pinquan Pavilion, and Yanshengguan.
In the eastern section of the Louguantai Park, you will find the largest and highest-latitude bamboo garden in northern China, known as the Hundred Bamboo Garden, featuring the most diverse bamboo species. Additionally, there is a rare animal exhibition hall dedicated to conserving and breeding national treasures such as giant pandas, red pandas, golden monkeys, brown-eared pheasants, and golden takins. This area also includes the oldest Taoist ancestral site in China – the Laozi Sutra Platform.
Travel Information about Louguantai Taoist Culture Area
Ticket Prices and Opening Hours
Ticket Price:
The combined ticket for the scenic area is 140 yuan.
Individual tickets are 55 yuan for Louguantai, 55 yuan for the Caishen Temple, and 30 yuan for Yanshengguan.
Opening Hours: 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM.
Best Time to Visit
All seasons are suitable for visiting. In spring, the mountains are lush and green, with tender willows and a riot of blooming flowers; in summer, the mountains appear verdant and refreshing; in autumn, the forests are vibrant with colors, creating a stunning view; in winter, the three friends of winter (pine, bamboo, and plum) stand out against the snow, presenting a charming and endlessly interesting scene.
Transportation to the Scenic Area
Location: Louguantai is located in Louguan Town, Zhouzhi County, about 70 kilometers from Xi’an.
Tourist Line: You can take the Huanshan Tourist Line 1 from the city center (tickets can be purchased on-site at the North Square of the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, allowing for free round-trip travel).
Scenic Rating
- Cultural: ★★★★
- Unique: ★★★
- Leisure: ★★
- Beautiful: ★★★★
- Romantic: ★★
- Exciting: ★★
Highlights of Louguantai Taoist Culture Area
Taoist Culture Area
The Taoist Culture Area is built upon the foundation of the ancient Louguantai Scenic Area. As the ancients said, “Among the rivers and mountains of Guanzhong, Zhongnan is the most superior; among the thousands of peaks of Zhongnan, Louguantai is the best.” This accurately reflects the rich natural landscapes and numerous cultural values of Louguantai, which is renowned as the “World’s First Blessed Land,” the “Crown of Caves,” and the “Celestial Capital of Taoism.”
The Taoist Culture Area centers around the Sutra Platform, incorporating the concept from Taoist thought: “One through Nine, Nine culminates in the Dao.” Its overall layout consists of “one axis, nine courtyards, and ten halls,” making it a famous tourist destination that integrates cultural relics exhibition, sightseeing, worship, the Laozi Cultural Festival, and Daoist cultural exchange, all while focusing on natural ecological protection.
The architecture of the Taoist Culture Area is built in the Ming and Qing style, following the contours of the mountains. The major halls within the cultural area are dedicated to the Taoist Three Pure Ones, Four Sovereigns, various folk deities, and Taoist masters, creating the largest Taoist temple complex in the world and fully showcasing the grand spirit of the “Celestial Capital of Taoism.”
What to do:
Participating in Activities: The Louguantai Taoist Culture Area hosts numerous activities throughout the year. Among the highlights are the annual public worship ceremonies for Laozi, which include a grand festival held every five years that features re-enactments of Tang Dynasty royal sacrificial rites. Additionally, there are local temple fairs rich in regional characteristics and various seminars on Laozi’s philosophy and Taoist culture, catering to different levels and formats.
Visiting Exhibition Halls: One of the notable venues is the Cai Zhizhong National Studies Art Museum. This museum beautifully combines traditional Chinese culture with the modern artistry of renowned comic master Cai Zhizhong. Inside, visitors can explore exquisite national studies comic exhibitions, as well as attend occasional lectures on traditional Chinese scholarship.
Hua Nu Spring Scenic Area
The Hua Nu Spring Scenic Area is based on the story of Laozi enlightening Xu Jia, blending elements of women’s health, spring culture, and tea culture. It serves as a display of the origins of Chinese spring culture and a destination for experiencing Chinese tea culture.
The scenic area consists of three main squares and five groups of buildings. The three squares are Fengwu Square, Pinquan Pavilion Square, and Hua Nu Spring Square. The five groups of buildings include the Mountain Gate, Zhuli Pavilion, Pinquan Pavilion, Xinshi Square, and the Temple Area.
Throughout the area, cultural landmarks such as the Laozi Xu Jia Hall, the Hua Nu sculpture, the Laozi staff spring, and the stele pavilion create a rich Taoist cultural atmosphere. Visitors can immerse themselves in the profound and extensive culture of Taoist tea while enjoying the scenic beauty.
Related Legend:
According to legend, Laozi transformed the auspicious grass into a beautiful woman to test his disciple Xu Jia’s sincerity in practicing Taoism. When Xu Jia was moved by desire, Laozi became furious and struck the ground with his staff, causing a clear spring to suddenly appear. Xu Jia gained insight from this experience and was deeply educated, ultimately attaining enlightenment. As a result, this spring was named “Hua Nu Spring” in honor of the event.
Zhao Gongming Caishen Cultural Area
The Zhao Gongming Caishen Cultural Scenic Area (Caishen means God of Wealth) centers around the birthplace of Zhao Gongming, the legitimate Caishen of Chinese culture, and the historical legacy of Caishen worship. It is regarded as the ancestral temple dedicated to Zhao Gongming, known for its reputation as “the First Caishen of China and a unique blessed land among the nine provinces.”
The Caishen Hall is the core building of the Zhao Gongming Caishen Cultural Scenic Area. It stands 34 meters tall and consists of four levels. The fourth level is the main hall dedicated to Zhao Gongming, the legitimate Caishen. The third level serves as a prayer and worship area, the second level is a multifunctional display area for Caishen culture, and the first level features a theater, along with a themed merchandise store dedicated to Caishen culture.
Related Details:
- Within the scenic area, there are shops where you can purchase a variety of local handicrafts, including Cai Shen (God of Wealth) New Year paintings to bring good fortune into your home.
- Additionally, the small theater in the area features a daily performance of “Dao · Dream Space.” This show creates a visually and audibly stunning experience through innovative on-site scenes and advanced technology. The use of multimedia enhances and expands the cultural content, allowing visitors to experience sensory stimulation guided by high-tech effects amidst the fast-paced changes in the storyline. Ticket price: 40 RMB per person.
Yansheng Temple Scenic Area
The Yansheng Temple Scenic Area is centered around the remnants of the Tang Dynasty’s Yuzhen Temple, also known as Yuzhen Shrine or Shengxian Platform. It was the place where Princess Yuzhen, the sister of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, left the palace to practice Taoism. The temple was dedicated to praying for the longevity of her parents and the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty, symbolizing the wish for eternal life for all. Yansheng Temple was renovated and expanded during the Song Dynasty and continued to thrive in the Ming Dynasty. Throughout history, many scholars and poets, including Li Bai, Wang Wei, and Su Shi, visited the temple, leaving behind numerous poems, stories, and anecdotes.
The buildings in the scenic area are constructed along the mountain slope, facing north with their backs to the south. They adopt the architectural style and design of the Tang Dynasty, featuring golden rooftops, red pillars, intricately carved beams, and brightly painted structures, giving the entire area a magnificent and grand appearance.
Qujiang Agricultural Expo Park
Qujiang Agricultural Expo Park covers an area of approximately 390,000 square meters, featuring 27 types of shrubs and 34 types of herbs, totaling over 60 plant species.
The park includes special displays of vegetables and fruits, an exhibition hall for rare flowers, showcases for future agricultural technologies, demonstrations of soilless hydroponics, and a large ecological restaurant bathed in sunlight. This modern agricultural expo park seamlessly combines high-tech agricultural demonstrations with tourism, allowing visitors to explore, relax, and engage in educational activities related to contemporary agriculture.
Activities at the Expo Park:
- Seasonal Theme Activities: Utilizing the phenology of different plants, the park organizes themed tourism events featuring lavender, sunflowers, and more.
- Li Shizhen Journey: An educational experience focused on learning about plants and their properties, inspired by the famous Chinese herbalist.
- Plant Craft Workshop: Visitors can engage in hands-on experiences by processing plant leaves, branches, and fruits.
- Plant Science Summer Camp: This program includes activities such as plant recognition, picking, and specimen preparation, providing an interactive learning environment for participants.
Daqin Temple
Daqin Temple is one of the earliest sites of Christianity in China and the only remaining relic of Christianity from the Tang Dynasty, with a history of nearly 1,400 years.
The temple features a tranquil, wall-less courtyard with five western rooms and three southern rooms, surrounded by lush sycamore trees. A notable structure within the temple is a seven-story hexagonal brick pagoda, known locally as the Christian Pagoda. The top of the pagoda is adorned with clay sculptures of Jesus and the Virgin Mary from the Tang Dynasty, inscribed with Syriac script.
Adjacent to the pagoda stands a famous stone tablet known as the “Daqin Nestorian Stele.” Erected in the second year of the Tang Jianzhong era (781 AD) by the Persian missionary Yazdhozid, this stele contains 32 lines of regular script and 62 characters of semi-cursive script, totaling 1,780 Chinese characters and several dozen in Syriac. It documents the spread of Nestorian Christianity in the Tang Dynasty. The original stele is preserved in the Stele Forest in Xi’an.
Related Details:
The name “Daqin Temple” does not imply that it is a Buddhist temple simply because it contains the character for “temple” (寺). On the stele documenting the Nestorian Christianity that spread in China, the upper part features a cross surrounded by auspicious clouds, while the lower part displays typical Buddhist lotus petals. This imagery signifies that Nestorianism is the “flower” of Chinese Buddhism and bears the “fruit” of Christianity.
During the reinforcement of the Daqin Temple pagoda in 1999, clay sculptures from the Tang Dynasty were discovered at the top of the pagoda. Experts confirmed that these figures represent Jesus and the Virgin Mary, rather than Buddhist figures. Additionally, the bricks at the top of the ancient pagoda are inscribed with Syriac characters, and the design of the pagoda itself is distinctly different from that of Buddhist stupas.
Visitor Guide for Louguantai Taoist Culture Area
Accommodation Options
There are various types of guesthouses and hotels surrounding the scenic area, with over ten options available. Since the attractions are not far from the city center, returning to the city for accommodation is also a viable option.
Xi’an Louguan Impression Hotel (西安楼观印象酒店): Located in the China Dao Culture Exhibition Area in Zhouzhi County, Xi’an, directly opposite Louguantai. It boasts a prime location with convenient transportation. The hotel integrates accommodation, dining, and conference facilities, making it a relaxing health resort. Phone: 029-65661234.
Xi’an Louguan Taoist Hot Spring Hotel (西安楼观道温泉酒店): Situated at Louguantai and built against the Qinling Mountains. It is close to multiple highways and fast lanes, providing direct access to Xi’an Xianyang International Airport. The hotel features 17 garden-style outdoor hot spring pools and two VIP hot spring villas. Guests can enjoy high-end spa services, traditional foot massages, Taoist health baths, outdoor bamboo forest spa experiences, and stone bath treatments. Phone: 029-68071111.
Dining Options
Near the park, you’ll find Louguan Dingdang Lamb Restaurant and Louguan Station, both of which offer delicious local cuisine. Outside the scenic area, there are also restaurants like Chongqing Stone Pot Fish and Xi’an Pao Mo Restaurant, catering to a variety of tastes.
On Caishen Street behind the Caishen Temple Grand Theater, numerous specialty restaurants serve a range of dishes, including spicy pot pancakes, Heihe grilled fish, potato rice cakes, and Cui Feng noodle dishes. These eateries provide a delightful culinary experience for visitors.
Events and Festivals
Louguan Laozi Culture Festival: Held annually in spring during the Qingming Festival, this event features a series of traditional cultural activities, including the Wealth and Blessing Ceremony and Jixian Drum Performance. The festival also offers a variety of nearly one hundred exciting activities such as hot spring experiences, wellness cuisine, and public tree planting. With vast fields of blooming rapeseed flowers, it provides a perfect setting for relaxation, entertainment, and photography, allowing visitors to immerse themselves in the unique cultural charm of Louguan amidst the vibrant spring atmosphere.
Spring Folk Temple Fair: This event takes place during the Chinese New Year. The temple fair showcases activities like celebrating the New Year, worshipping the God of Wealth, and watching performances of intangible cultural heritage. It seamlessly integrates traditional Chinese culture with local folk customs, creating a unique Louguan-style temple fair experience. The fair features authentic scenes of folk fairs, along with local delicacies, interactive entertainment, and demonstrations of folk skills, all contributing to a rich festive atmosphere.