In Guan Lin, the buildings are Ming, highly carved and richly decorated. Through the great gate set in the outer wall is a rectangular courtyard, bounded by long low buildings with gates and Bell and Drum Towers, with the Main Hall in the middle. This, and also the second and third halls beyond, are newly painted, with remarkable action scenes and everywhere are ancient twisted cypresses, one enormous specimen said to date from the Ming. Look at the carved stone lioness lining the path to the main Hall- each has a different expression and a different cub, some riding boldly on mother's back, others riding coyly behind her paws.
It is a quiet place, well restored and brilliantly coloured against the grey and green background of stone and cypresses.
Bai Ma Si - (White Horse Temple) lies about 9km east of Luoyang and like Guan Lin, it is a green placid place- sometimes claimed to be the very first Buddhist temple found in China. Legend says that the Emperor Yong Ping dreamed of a golden figure with the sun and moon behind its head. Two monks sent to search for the origin of the dream reached India and returned riding white horses and bearing the sutras which they then translated. The Emperor built this temple for them.
Its layout fits neatly into the legend. There are two stone horses, one on either side of the entrance and the tombs of the two monks in the first courtyard. Ahead is the Hall of Celestial Guardians and beyond is the main Hall where Sakyamuni is flanked by Manjusri and Samantabhadra. Near the Great Altar is an ancient bell weighing over a ton: in the days when there were 10,000 Tang monks here it was struck in time with the chanting. The inscription reads, "The sound of the Bell resounds in Buddha's temple causing the ghosts in Hell to tremble with fear."
Behind the main Hall is the Hall of 18 Arhats (Yuan period) and through the Jieyin Dian up the steps is the Cool Terrace where it is said, the sutras were translated. South-west of the temple is the Ciyou Ta - Cloud reaching Pagoda- built in the 10C and restored several times. The 13-storey brick tower with its projecting roofs is more graceful than many pagodas. You can get a bus to Bai Ma Si from Guan Lin or take a no.6 direct from Xi Guan in the city centre.
