Nanchan Temple stands on a low hillside in remote country some thirty kilometres south-west of Mt. Wutai proper. The main hall, dated to 782 CE by an inscription, is the oldest surviving wooden building in China — older than every other Tang structure by roughly seventy-five years and a clear seventy-five years older than Foguang. It is small: a single hall of three bays, with a heavily timbered overhanging roof and the simple, almost stark proportions that the late eighth century preferred.
Inside, the hall preserves seventeen original Tang-period painted clay sculptures, including a central Sakyamuni, attendant bodhisattvas, and two guardian lions — one of the most complete and important groups of Tang religious sculpture surviving anywhere. The site is a substantial detour from the main monastic centre, and the practical way to combine it with Foguang Temple is to make a long day trip together by hired car. The visit is the closest you can get to seeing a religious building of the High Tang as the High Tang knew it.