The display of the Buddhist sarira (finger-bone relic) of Xi'an Famen Temple has already attracted over 600,000 visitors since May 26, estimated the Hong Kong Buddhist Association (HKBA) on Sunday.

Since the sarira started to be publicly displayed, the number of visitors has kept growing. The organizer HKBA has prepared extra tickets to meet the high demand for several times. Up to now,a total of 400,000 more tickets have been given out, according to the HKBA.

Among the 600,000 visitors are not only Hong Kong people, but also a large number of people from the Chinese Mainland and the overseas. According to the HKBA, more than 100 mainland and Southeast Asia tours had made reservation for the tickets to visitthe sarira.

A lady named Chan, a Chinese-American, said she felt quiet and peace inside after viewing the sarira. Chan said she was surprised to find herself to be able to stand and wait outside the display venue for one and a half hours without feeling any discomfort in her leg which had been injured years ago.

A man named Bromley from Britain came to Hong Kong specially to view and pay homage to the Buddha's sarira, but he did not make an arrangement of ticket reservation before hand. He said he was veryglad to be offered a ticket on May 26, the first day of the display.

A Chinese named Zheng from Shenzhen, he believed that non-Buddhist believers would also be benefited from viewing the sarira as theirhorizons would be widened.

Believers or non-believers, most visitors are enthusiastic about viewing the sarira. The activity has fostered cultural exchange between visitors with different backgrounds, and a scene of harmony and peace is also formed.