Shanxi, Hanging Temple, Jinci Temple and Wutai Shan

The Hanging Temple is located on the crag of Jinlongkou west cliff at the foot of Hengshan Mountain, 5 kilometers to the south from Hunyuan County, Shanxi Province. 

Hengshan Mountain is known as the North Mountain of the Five Sacred Mountains in China. The Hanging Temple was built on the Jinlong Valley at the foot of Henshan Mountain, which is 80 kilometers away from Datong City. According to the History of Hengshan Mountain, the Hanging Temple was first built at the end of the Northern Wei Dynasty (about the sixth century). It was said to be built by a monk named Liao Ran in the Northern Wei Dynasty. It has a history of more than 1,400 years. After many times of repairs, the Hanging Temple had a large scale, and became a rare high altitude building in China, known as a high building on cliff.

All buildings in the temple were hung on the crag at the slope of Hengshan Mountain. The buildings stand vertical to the cliff, and the peak of the cliff seems upside down. Seen from upwards, the whole building seems that it just sticks to the cliff. Facing south to Hengshan Mountain, the temple is under the crags and on the cloughs, with red walls and gray tiles. Strew at random and spread in the air, it just like a flying little phoenix. The buildings are arrayed in a line from the south of the cliff to the north, and heightened gradually like a dragon pronating on the cliff. More than forty halls, rooms and pavilions in the temple are divided to three groups. Passing through the temple gate, one can reach a two-storeyed building. As the stele pavilions and the gate towers, two tall buildings stand face to face in the yard. There are two bell and drum towers on both sides of the temple gate, and they are square side pavilions. The principal building among them is the Sanguan Hall, a place to offer sacrifice to Taoism. Statues in the hall are vivid, with undecorated faces, black eyebrows and swaying gussets. The principal building in the central party is the Sansheng Hall, which enshrines sitting Buddha statues with disciples standing submissively on the sides. The last building complex is mainly the Sanjiao Hall, the highest one in the temple, and has a three-eave gable and hip roof with nine ridges. Statues of Confucius, Laozi (a scholar in ancient China) and Sakyamuni the founders of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism respectively, are enshrined in the hall. Different cultures directly encounter one another here. This building is a perfect combination of religion and culture of Chinese feudal society. The statue of Sakyamuni stands in the middle, that of Laozi on the right and Confucius on the left, with different expressions. Displaying the innermost being of three founders of different doctrines, techniques of statuaries are really exquisite and are acclaimed as the peak of perfection.

Our bus was caught in a traffic jam of coal trucks, so our guide asked if we minded walking down a dry riverbed for a mile or so to come to the parking lot and entrance for the Hanging Monastery and Temple. We were game for the walk, not letting a traffic jam deter us, and hiked to our destination. The views out of the temple encompass a large dam to the right and miles of rocky mountains and dry riverbeds to the left. The hallways and passages in the temple itself are one-way and very narrow. As I walked rather gingerly through the old wooden structure looking at scuptures and grottoes, I admit having visions of the whole structure plunging into a splintered heap at the bottom of the rocky ravine. Wild imagination...

Our journey to Wutai Shan took us through spectacular mountain scenery, obvious inspriration for Chinese landscape paintings. At the top we set off fireworks as a tribute to the mountain, and a horse tethered nearby was none too happy with us. Our hotel in Wutai Shan was a curious mazelike place with no elevators (a reminder to pack light); the first night in the hotel, we had a magnificent storm over the mountains. I slept with the windows open and enjoyed the fresh cool air and a room free of cigarette smoke smell. Chinese hotels all have what I began to call "Buddhist beds"--the beds are as hard as a plank. Buddhist beds because "all life is suffering." The only way to achieve nirvana is to abjure earthly attachments--no way to get attached to lazing around in bed--thus, Buddhist beds.

Mt. Wutai Shan is one of the holiest sites in Chinese Buddhism. The name means five terraced mountain (shan) We vistied three of the many temples in the area dedicated to Buddha and his disciples. The large white stupa on Wutai Shan is supposed to contain some of the ashes of the first Buddha; after he was cremated, his ashed were divided into 80+ containers--one of those containers is interred at Wutai Shan. I especially enjoyed being on the grounds of the monasteries and just seeing the monks and the pilgrims going about their daily business. The grounds are serene and beautiful.

The final segment of our trip in Shanxi included one of the oldest surviving Tang dynasty wooden structure, Foguang Temple. Tucked away in the mountains, it is a forgotten gem. The groundskeeper has planted a gorgeous garden designed to attract goldfinches. It was in full and glorious bloom.

The pictures of me with the bronze statues are at Jinci Temple, built in 1023 AD as a tribute to the emperor's mother. There are twenty four stunning statues of court ladies that stand as maidservants to the mother of Prince Shuyu. Once again, a beautiful, well-manicured and peaceful sight was a welcome respite from the wild chaos of the cities.

See more information about Hanging Temple , click on Hanging Temple blog.