Meanwhile, Buddhism stayed vibrant in areas of Southeast Asia and East Asia.
Although Buddhism was initially popular in China during the Tang dynasty (618-906 CE), by the end of that period Confucianism had reasserted itself, and official patronage of Buddhist monasteries declined.
When the Mongols conquered much of China, and Asia, Tibetan Buddhism became the officially favored religion because they revered the Tibetan Dalai Lama.