Cao'an

Common card · No. 448960

Cao'an (Chinese: 草庵; pinyin: Cǎo'ān; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Chháu-am; lit. 'thatched nunnery') is a temple in Luoshan Subdistrict, Jinjiang, Fujian. Originally constructed by Chinese Manichaeans, it was considered by later worshipers to be a Buddhist temple. This "Manichaean temple in Buddhist disguise" had historically been seen by modern experts on Manichaeism as "the only Manichaean building which has survived intact". However, other Manichaean buildings have survived intact, such as the Xuanzhen Temple, also in China. In 2021, Cao'an was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List along with many other sites near Quanzhou because of its unique testimony to the exchange of religious ideas and cultures in medieval China. Over 2022, the number of tourists to the location doubled and preservation efforts began.

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