There has been a temple on this site to the west of Fuzhou since the Tang Dynasty but most of the buildings in the current temple were rebuilt during the Qing Dynasty. The 15-story Bao'en Tower is the tallest existing stone tower in China, reaching 61 meters in height.

The Xichan temple complex is arranged symmetrically and consists of 36 halls, temples and pagodas. These include the Great Hall, the Hall of Deities, and the Hall of Arhats, which is one of the older structures in the area having been built at the beginning of the Tang Dynasty. The Five Dynasties (907-960) Dagoba is considered to be a wonderful example of temple architecture.

The temple is also famous for the lychee trees, which grow here. The ancient lychees were all destroyed during the Cultural Revolution but the replanted trees still draw many tourists.