Guangren Temple

This guide to Guangren Temple in Xi'an starts with a stele Emperor Kangxi personally inscribed in 1705, framing the temple as a pious resthouse for Tibetan, Mongolian and other Buddhist leaders traveling to Beijing. It follows how that generosity doubled as a customs post, tracking the caravans of horses, furs and herbs each delegation hauled along the route, and recounts how Kangxi once turned back a Mongol khan's oversized embassy at the border. The guide asks what the temple's remaining gifts still reveal about the wealth that once passed through here.