Shuxiang Temple sits in the south-western part of the Taihuai cluster, in a working monastic compound that has been on this site since the Yuan dynasty. The current main hall was rebuilt in the Ming dynasty after a fire and houses what is generally agreed to be the most important Manjusri sculpture on the mountain: a nine-metre-tall riding figure, the bodhisattva sitting on a lion, modelled in painted clay with extraordinary baroque sculptural energy.
The hall is dim, with the figure rising into the rafters above the worshippers, and the air is heavy with incense brought up from the nearby market street. A visit takes twenty minutes and pairs naturally with the adjacent Tayuan and Xiantong compounds. Photography of the statue itself is generally not permitted, but the exterior and courtyards are unrestricted.