Bao’en Temple was by far my favourite temple I visited while living in mainland China. And, by all accounts, it was the most unusual. I arrived on a breezy spring day and while there were two school tour groups visiting at the same time, the place felt nearly empty; a rarity in China. The entrance fee wasn’t outrageous and the history mixed with strange statue homages to Hans Christian Andersen made Bao’en as odd as it did beautiful to me.