(ECNS) -- In order to promote Buddhism among tech-savvy young Chinese, Beijing's Longquan Temple has unveiled a new house guest: a chubby robot called Xian'er that resembles a Buddhist monk, the Beijing News reported on Thursday.

Standing about 60cm high and wearing a yellow robe, the robot has been developed by the temple with artificial intelligence experts, and is able to sense its surroundings and engage in basic discussions about Buddhism, the report said.

The robot has become a local celebrity, and some people have even made enquiries about buying it. But Master Xianfan, the creator of Xian'er and leader of the animation center at the temple, said Xian'er is the sole robot monk at the temple, and used to attract visitors to Buddhist culture rather than for business.

"We are preparing for second generation robot research and development, which would be more intelligent," he added. "We do not intend to carry out batch production of robot monks."

The robot even has his own account on Weibo, a leading microblogging service in China, and has attracted thousands of tourists to the temple.

Xian'er has travelled all over the country and showed off its skills at various events, namely the Guangzhou International Animation Festival, the Xiamen International Buddhist Show, and the Robotics conference at the Beijing National Conference Center, according to the report.

The aim is to take a modern approach to engage with contemporary audiences and promote Buddhism, including through social media, it was added.

Master Xianfan said Buddhism should be combined with modern technology, with the hope that people can learn and better understand Buddhism through the use of popular new forms of information technology like microblogging, WeChat, and animation.

Read more: Sparkling conversation with Xian'er robot