A bit out of the way. Very well kept but very small. As a fan of The Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre, I am very interested to see this temple. It may not be of great interest to average tourists.

Founded by the self-style prophet Mani (AD 216-276) in the part of the then Persian Empire which comprises modern Iraq, the Manichaean religion drew its inspiration from Judaeo-Christianity, Gnosticism and Zoroastriansim. Mani was a fervent evangelist and from the Fourth Century AD onwards his religion enjoyed great missionary success, especially in the cities along the Silk Road. In the 8th C it became the state religion of the Uighur Turks whom the Tang government in China relied as their principal mercenaries to fight their frontier wars. Under the patronage of successive Uighur Khaghans, Manichaean monasteries were established in the principal Chinese cities north of the River Yangtze. It was severely persecuted in the 9th C and the religion survived mainly in the region of Turfan, especially around the Uighur capital of Chotcho until the 11th C and in the province of Fujian in South China up to the turn of the 20th C. It's a fascinating history, well worth the trek just to see this last operating Manichaean temple in China if not the world. It's not a big temple complex and it's isolated and quiet, you can spend some time trekking in the forest behind the hills.