page_title: White Horse Temple
section_title: Modern history
hierarchical_section_title: White Horse Temple / History / Modern history
caption_attribution_description: English: From left: Mao Zedong, Peng Zhen, Norodom Sihanouk and Liu ShaoqiText caption: Judging that relations with China were important to Cambodia's fragile neutrality. Prince Norodom Sihanouk (in the dark tunic) went to Peking in 1965 for discussions with Chairman Mao Tse-tung (left). (Center of Military History)
context_page_description: White Horse Temple is Buddhist temple in Luoyang, Henan that, according to tradition, is the first Buddhist temple in China, having been first established in 68 AD under the patronage of Emperor Ming in the Eastern Han dynasty.
  The site is just outside the walls of the ancient Eastern Han capital, some 12–13 kilometres east of Luoyang in Henan Province. It is approximately 40 minutes by bus No. 56 from Luoyang railway station. The temple, although small in comparison to many others in China, is considered by most believers as "the cradle of Chinese Buddhism". The geographical landmarks to the south are Manghan mountain and Lucoche River.
  The main temple buildings, a large complex, were reconstructed during the Ming and Qing dynasties. They were refurbished in the 1950s, and again in March 1973 after the Cultural Revolution. It has numerous halls divided by courtyards and manicured gardens, covering an area of about 13 hectares. The display plaques in Chinese and English give ample descriptions of the Buddhist deities installed in the halls.
context_section_description: Under the People's Republic of China, the temple has seen many renovations in the period between 1952 and 1973.
  In 1973, Prince Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia visited the temple. Cambodia was a communist ally of China and Prince Sihanouk was staying in a palatial residence in Beijing. He was permitted to visit parts of the country on a tour for propaganda purposes, to show to the outside world that all was normal within China. As an ardent Buddhist, Sihanouk expressed a wish to Premier Zhou Enlai to visit the White Horse Temple. This put the administration into a frenzy, since many parts of the temple had been damaged during the Cultural Revolution and items were missing. Post haste, 2900 artefacts, which were in other palaces and museums in China, such as the Palace of Benevolent Tranquillity on the western side of the Forbidden City and statues in the Arhat Hall (Luohan Tang) of the Temple of Azure Clouds in Beijing’s Fragrant Hills were secretly shifted to the temple, and the White Horse Temple was fully restored. The newly restored temple impressed the Cambodians, who were oblivious to the events that had gutted the temple. The shift of artefacts to this temple was announced as permanent by Premier Zhou Enlai when the original owners wanted the artefacts to be returned.
  In 1992, with the assistance of Thai and Chinese donors, the Hall of the Thai Buddha was constructed slightly west of the old temple.
caption: Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia (centre) in China
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