This shortcut enables you to skip most of the level. Note that if you use it, you will miss 2 secrets.

This shortcut begins at the alcove where you find the Gold Dragon. It involves taking a running jump out of the alcove with a curve around to the right to land on the sloped block near the wooden bridge, as indicated in the screenshot above. Here's how to do it:

Position Lara at the outer right corner of the alcove, facing the bridge with just enough room to clear the corner of the opening, as shown above.

Hop back once.

Now take the running jump by pressing Forward then Jump, as usual.

While Lara is in the air, hold the Right Arrow key or press to the right on the control stick to defy the laws of physics and veer to the right.

The goal is to land on this sloping block facing uphill so Lara can slide down and grab the edge.

Once you've got hold of this edge, traverse to the left as far as possible.

Pull up and immediately backflip.

As soon as Lara takes off from the slope, immediatly roll (press the Roll button or Up + Down Arrow keys a the same time) to do a mid-air somersault and then hold the Right Arrow key or press to the right on the control stick to swerve to the right and land on the bridge.

You can then pick up the walkthrough at the "Wooden Bridge with Rolling Blade" section here.

To the best of my knowledge, this shortcut was discovered by Varatharaju, who posted it on tombraiderforums.com. It was first brought to my attention by Mman, who used it in his Temple of Xian speedrun, shown here on YouTube. It's also broken down step by step in a nice video by ItalianGuy99.

[Return to the Temple of Xian Walkthrough]