Shanxi, Hanging Monastery, Jinci Temple & Wutai Shan


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Asia » China » Shanxi » Wutaishan
July 29th 2007
Published: August 15th 2007
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Jinci TempleJinci TempleJinci Temple

It's the pink shirt again!
The Hanging Temple and Monastery in Shanxi Province was both remarkable in its construction and awe-inspiring in its location. It is literally built into the side of a cliff. The monks chose the site and the elevation to protect the temple from floods. 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. M


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Foguang TempleFoguang Temple
Foguang Temple

Goldfinch garden


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