The temple was first built during the Kaihuang period of the Sui dynasty, between 581 and 600, under the name Thousand Buddha Temple. It reached its greatest prominence during the Zhenguan period of the Tang dynasty (627-649), when it was renamed Xingguo Chan Temple. After the fall of the Southern Song dynasty in 1279, wars and natural disasters destroyed the entire complex. It lay in ruins until 1468, when a man named Su Xian raised the funds to rebuild on the original foundation during the reign of the Chenghua Emperor of the Ming dynasty. That reconstruction added the Four Heavenly Kings Hall, the Mahavira Hall, living quarters, and a storehouse. Two further rebuilds followed during the Qing dynasty, in the Jiaqing and Xianfeng periods, each preserving the traditional architectural layout.

The temple's surviving structure follows Ming and Qing building principles, with its main buildings arranged along a central axis and divided into four courtyards. The Shanmen -- the mountain gate that marks the entrance -- bears a plaque inscribed by Zhao Puchu, the former Venerable Master of the Buddhist Association of China. A wooden plaque with a couplet by the Qing scholar Yang Zhaoqing hangs on the front pillars. Inside, the Mahavira Hall enshrines the Three Saints of Huayan, with Sakyamuni in the center flanked by statues of Wenshu and Puxian. Ananda and Kassapa Buddha stand before Sakyamuni, while a statue of Guanyin occupies the rear, attended by Shancai and Longnu. The Eighteen Arhats line both sides of the hall. In the Jade Buddha Hall, a sitting Sakyamuni carved from jadeite glows with a faint green translucence.

Opposite the temple stands the Thousand Buddha Cliff, where artisans of the Sui and Tang dynasties carved more than 200 stone statues directly into the rock face. These are not the monumental carvings of the famous grottoes at Longmen or Dunhuang, but smaller, more intimate works -- figures carved with what contemporary observers describe as integrated structural and exquisite technique. During the Cultural Revolution of 1966-1976, Red Guards attacked the temple, though the stone statues on the cliff suffered only slight damage. Their survival was partly a matter of material: stone resists ideology better than wood or plaster. The cliff carvings remain the temple's oldest and most irreplaceable treasures, connecting the current complex directly to its sixth-century origins.

What distinguishes Xingguo Temple from many Buddhist sites is the presence of multiple religious traditions within its grounds. The Lishanyuan courtyard, east of the main temple, contains structures dedicated to Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism alike. The Shun and Luban Ancestral Temples honor figures from Chinese folk tradition, the Wenchang Cabinet celebrates literary culture, and the Yilan Kiosk offers a place for contemplation. This coexistence of the Three Teachings within a single complex reflects a characteristically Chinese approach to religious practice -- syncretism over exclusion, accommodation over doctrinal purity. The temple has always been more than Buddhist. It is a place where Chinese spiritual life, in its full complexity, continues to be practiced.