On June 12, 2010, a sarira believed to have been made from the skull of Sakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism, had been enshrined in Qixia Temple in Jiangsu province's capital Nanjing. The Seven-Treasure Pagoda of King Asoka and Golden coffin with a silver-colored outer coffin were sent to Qixia Temple from Dabao Temple, where the relic was shortly stored after the excavation. It would be unveiled for the first time after being treasured for more than a thousand years.

It is said that 2,500 years ago, Sakyamuni's disciples retrieved one skull bone, two scapulas, four teeth and 84,000 pearl-like sariras from his cremation. According to Buddhist records, Asoka, an Indian emperor who converted after a bloody war, collected all of Sakyamuni's sarira. He stored them in pagoda-shaped shrines before sending them to different parts of the world. China is believed to have received 19 of them.