The Yuantong Temple dates originally from the Nanzhao Kingdom at the time of the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907). After two major restorations and expansion in the Chenghua period (1465-1487) of the Ming Dynasty and the 24th year of Emperor Kangxi's rule (1686) of the Qing Dynasty, the temple took on its present design, with covered corridors, bridges and grand halls. Nanzhao (also Nanchao and Nan Chao) was a Buddhist kingdom that flourished in what is now southern China and Southeast Asia during the 8th and 9th centuries.