Most Buddhist temples in the Sishuan province were either closed or destroyed during Mao's Cultural Revolution. Today, in capitalist-communist China they run a thriving business : they charge an entrance fee, run tea houses and restaurants, actively solicit donations. Temples are also museums, testimonies to a proud past which tends to be bulldozed away in a China determined to modernise.

The Mahayana school of Buddhism prevalent in China is heavily influenced by Taoism, a cult which originates in Shamanism. Devotees offer incense sticks and candles to the Buddha as well as to the many Taoist...