Chinese authorities will be giving Taoist and Buddhist temples certificates to help followers distinguish authentic temples from fake and illegitimate ones.
The State Administration of Religious Affairs (SARA), which supervises Chinese religious institutions, gave out its first batch of certificates to the Chinese temples including the Fire God Temple and the Guangji Temple located in the capital city of Beijing.
The temples can display or post the certificates for followers and visitors to see, which may result in the decrease of illegal profiteering and fund-raising from the fake temples.
"Some secular sites used fake monks to trick tourists into donating money or buying expensive incense," said SARA official Liu Wei.
Liu added that SARA will continue to give out the certificates to legitimate temples all over the country.
Fake monks have long been conducting illegal acts to gain profit, especially in the less-urban areas where impostors con people and tourists into giving money.
In 2013, a high-profile case regarding impostor monks saw two fake temples shut down in the holy Buddhist mountain of Mount Wutai in the Shanxi Province. Six people were also caught by the authorities for conning tourists in the area.
There are more than 9,000 Taoist temples and around 33,000 Buddhist temples in China. The government banned profit-making religious activities after numerous temples and religious sites conducted such activities in the recent years. Additionally, temples trying to get listed on stock markets were banned.