Hanging Temple Guide

Travel to Hanging Temple, you can see the gorgeous Chinese architecture and the wisdom of ancient Chinese people. Hanging Temple stands at the foot of Mt. Hengshan, 5 kilometers (3 miles) south of Hunyuan County, and 65 kilometers (40 miles) from downtown Datong City. Since it hangs on the west cliff of Jinxia Gorge more than 50 meters above the ground, it is called Hanging Temple.Hanging Temple, built in 491, has survived more than 1400 years. The extant monastery was largely rebuilt and maintained in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).Construction experts from

countries including Britain, Germany, and Italy, come to see the monastery. In their words, Hanging Temple, which mixes mechanics, aesthetics, and Buddhism, is rare. The monastery and everything it symbolizes embodies a great cultural achievement of Chinese people.The second attraction of Hanging Temple is that it includes Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. Inside the monastery, the sculptures of Sakyamuni, Confucius and Laotzu appear together, which is unusual. There are 40 halls and cabinets, which contain about 80 sculptures made of copper, iron, terracotta, and stone. The features are vividly carved. Why build a monastery like this?

Location is the first reason; building a monastery on cliff could shield it from floods. In addition, the mountain peak protects it from rain and snow; and the mountain around it also diminishes damage from long-time sunshine. The second reason is that the builders followed a principle in Taoism: no noises, including those from rooster crowing and dog baying; so from upper ground, all noises drop away. Here's some guide information in your travel of Hanging Temple: Address: Hongyuan County,Datong City,Shanxi Province.      Contact number: 0086-0351-7220345      Admission Fee: CNY61(including CNY1 for insurrance)       Opening Hours: 08:00 to 18:00

• Mt. Wutaishan
• Huayan Monastery
• Datong Nine Dragon Wall
• Yungang Caves
• Hanging Temple
• Yingxian Wooden Pagoda
• Nine-Dragon Screen