Huayan Monastery Guide

Travel to Huayan Monastery is a must-do program in your tour in Shanxi Province. It is one of the only preserved monasteries from the Liao period. The name comes from the Huayan school of Buddhist teaching. In 1122, the monastery was destroyed, yet it was not long after a new building was built to replace the old. Inside the monastery there are two main areas that have been separated since the 15th century, the Lower Monastery and Upper Monastery. Both of these monasteries are well known for their unique works of religious art. The main hall of the upper monastery is the Hall of Sakyamuni. When you traveling here you will learn that It was first built in the Liao Dynasty and renovated in the Jin Dynasty (1115 - 1234).

 Occupying an area of 1,553 square meters (about 0.4 acres) it is one of the largest Buddha halls of the Liao period still in existence in China. In the middle of the hall, there are five sculptures standing in a row at the bottom of a lotus flower. Another twenty sculptures of gods, standing bowing to show their respect accompany the five main gods. Paintings on the wall depict sutra stories. The total area of the well-preserved color frescos is 890 square meters (about 0.2 acres) which is rare in China. On top of the hall are color paintings from the Ming Dynasty and Qing Dynasties (1644 - 1911) portraying dragons, cranes, flowers, all of which are images often found

 in Chinese legends on Buddhism. The Lower Monastery is simple and unsophisticated. Its main hall is the Bhaga Repository Hall in which Buddhist sutra is kept. The wooden library containing the Buddhist scriptures is exquisitely and elaborately designed. There are thirty-one sculptures in the hall among which the Bodhisattva with a pious prayer pose is the most famous; it possesses a lifelike human likeness rather than that of a god. Here's some guide information in your travel: Address: Huayan Monastery, Datong County, Shanxi Province.      Contact number: 0086-712-78662401      Admission Fee: CNY10      Opening Hours: 08:30 to 17:00

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