After getting down at Xuan Guang Pier, we climbed up a short flight of stairs to this temple. Nothing very special here as this is a small temple. However, you do get a good view of part of the lake from here.

In January 2020 my wife and I included a 6 night Wendy Wu private tour of Taiwan as part of our 18 day Asian trip we arranged to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary. Our Taiwan tour took in Taipei, Taroko Gorge, Sun Moon Lake, Tainan and Kaohsiung. During our visit to the beautiful Sun Moon Lake we took an enjoyable boat trip on the Lake from the main wharf at the Ita Thao village to the wharf below the Xuanguang Temple or Holy Monk Shrine. To reach the Shrine we needed to climb a number of steps to the entrance. At the base of these steps is a bush area where squirrels are on display and fed by the locals. We enjoyed taking photographs of these fast moving creatures. We did not find the climb up the steps all that difficult; however we did take our time to get to the top. The Holy Monk Shrine is dedicated to Xuanzang, a famous Tang Dynasty Buddhist monk. He was sent to India on the order of the Tang Emperor to seek Buddhist scriptures. Inside the temple is a golden idol of Xuanzang above which is written “Great National Scholar”. There is a detailed map on one of the walls showing Master Xuanzang’s amazing travels in a 17 year period from 627AD to 645 AD. On a display board in the temple there is written in Chinese and English a short summary of the purpose for his journey and the struggles he encountered throughout his travels. It is indeed an inspiring story. The display board, worth quoting as part of my review, reads as follows – “Master Xuan Zang , unafraid of difficulties and confronted with dangers and restrictions, travelled to India to receive Dharma; his intentions were on his hunger for Dharma. In his biography he stated ‘After meeting most masters, I learnt what they taught and understood the meanings in detail, but they were specializing within their schools and straying from the Sage’s Sutras; thus, they were different from each other. I couldn’t know what was right. That’s why I vowed to go to India to solve the confusions.’ From this, we know that his intentions in India were to solve confusions and doubts. Along the way, he was confronted with barren deserts, devoid of living animals, humans, and plants; skeletons were everywhere. Amidst those dangers, he persevered. Master Xuan Zang bravely ventured on”. The visit to the shrine was made more meaningful for us once we learnt the story of the courage and perseverance of this young Monk and what he had achieved all those hundreds of years ago. Outside the temple is a large open area with a large rock with red Chinese characters carved into it which is popular for tourist photographs. It is so popular that the temple authorities have had to erect queue ropes to control the masses seeking photographs so that everyone has to wait so that everyone gets the opportunity to have their photos taken. I understand that the Chinese characters read “Sun Moon Lake”. This area is also a fantastic vantage point for viewing wonderful vistas of the Sun Moon Lake and nearby Lalu Island. From this vantage point we could really appreciate the sheer beauty of this picturesque man made lake. This was a reflective temple visit telling a great story. We were glad it was included on our Taiwan tour itinerary.