[1][2] It is located in the town of Maba (马坝镇), Qujiang District, 25 km (16 mi) southeast of central Shaoguan, Guangdong province.

[4] The site was later renovated in 1934 under the leadership of Hsu Yun whose body is housed in the central forest sanctuary.

Inside the Caoxi Gate (曹溪门), a plaque with the Chinese characters "Nanhua Chan Temple" (南华禅寺) hanging on the door lintel written by the former President of Chinese Buddhist Association, the late Upasaka Zhao Puchu.

[5] The first account of Nanhua Temple for the European audience was most likely provided by Matteo Ricci, who visited it in August or September 1589, when relocating from Zhaoqing to Shaoguan.

The Jesuit was impressed by the temple, "magnificent in grandeur", and its fountain, "graciously designed and wonderfully built", as well as by the beautiful surroundings, but viewed the "idol-worshipping emissaries of the Satan" (i.e., the Buddhist clergy) with disdain and prejudice.