Bairenyuan Chan Temple is the ancestral shrine of Pure Land Buddhism, the largest sect of Buddhism worldwide. Founded by Master Huiyuan, the eminent Eastern Jin Dynasty monk and originator of Pure Land Buddhism, it served as the first sacred venue where Master Huiyuan cultivated his mind and expounded Buddhist scriptures. The temple and its founder occupy a pivotal position in the history of Chinese Buddhism.

Volume 29 of the Avatamsaka Sutra records: "In the land of Zhendan lies a dwelling place of Bodhisattvas called Narayana Mountain, where numerous Bodhisattvas of past ages once resided. In the frontier barbarian lands stands another abode for Bodhisattvas known as Niutou Mountain, also home to ancient Bodhisattvas through the ages." Bairenyuan Mountain nestles within the Niutou Mountain range.

First constructed in 357 AD, Bairenyuan Chan Temple underwent repeated renovations across successive dynasties. Its core cultural relics include the Cliff Temple Meditation Courtyard, Dharma Platform, Scripture Lecture Platform, Cultivation Cave, Ancient Southern Nunnery, Layered Green Tower, ancient plank road, Go Pavilion, Heart-Testing Stone, stone pagoda, and cliff stone carvings. Furthermore, Sun Chuanting, Grand Coordinator and Minister of War of the Ming Dynasty, together with Zhang Fengyi, another Minister of War, once pursued their studies here; the original layout of the old academy still remains discernible to this day.

Bairenyuan Mountain also boasts spectacular and diverse natural scenery, featuring the Winding Nine-Curve Path, Mist Cloud Cave, Arhat Peak, Incense Burner Peak, Child-Holding Peak, Golden Eagle Cliff, Tiger-Hiding Cliff, Nine-Tier Cliff, and Bodhisattva Summit. The entire scenic area features winding, precipitous peaks arranged in graceful layers—some towering grandly over deep, secluded valleys, others rising sheer and perilous with exquisite, ethereal beauty. It integrates peaks, rock formations, forests, valleys and springs as a unified landscape, embellished with wild peach, wild apricot, rose thorn, rhododendron micranthum, smoke tree and other native plants, forming an unspoiled natural scroll painting. In addition, the area is home to more than 280 varieties of Chinese medicinal herbs such as codonopsis and ganoderma lucidum, as well as over 50 species of wild animals including roe deer, pheasants and red foxes.

Take the Da-Yun Expressway and exit at Dai County Interchange, head onto the connecting road toward Shangguanyuan Junction, then drive north for 5.8 kilometers to reach the scenic spot.