金灯寺

Jindeng Temple

Useful Information

Location:	Pingshun County, Changzhi, Shanxi, China, 047405 (36.0201079, 113.6851259)
Open:	All year daily dusk-dawn. [2024]
Fee:	Adults CNY 30. [2024]
Classification:	Cave Church
Light:	n/a
Dimension:
Guided tours:	self guided, D=4 h.
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Jindeng Temple, Tel: +86-.
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

6th century	temple founded during the Northern Qi (550–577) and named 宝岩寺 (Baoyan Temple).
1504-1565	14 Buddhist niches, 37 Buddhist shrines, and over 500 statues of Buddha carved.
2006	listed as Major National Historical and Cultural Site in Shanxi by the State Council of China.

Description

金灯寺 (Jindeng Temple, Golden Light Temple) is a Buddhist cave temple, built on a ledge of steep precipices and cliffs in Beiquan Village. The pagodas were built on the ledge, some were built on wooden pillars because the ledge was not wide enough. A part of the temples was built into rectangular caverns which were dug artificially into the rock. The walls are covered with reliefs showing buddhist motives. One of the underground temples is used as a cistern. The main buildings are the 水陆殿 (Hall of Water and Land), 大佛殿 (Hall of Grand Buddha), 关帝殿 (Hall of Lord Guan), 聚仙楼 (Pavilion of Juxian), and the Pavilion of Ksitigarbha. Kṣitigarbha was a bodhisattva which is primarily revered in East Asian Buddhism and usually depicted as a Buddhist monk. There are 34 halls with 7 courtyards and 25 caves carved into the cliff. More than 10,000 stone Buddhas are carved on the walls, 200 Buddha statues can be found in 18 caves.

The site is located in a rather inaccessible mountain region. The valleys are steep and have vertical cliffs on both sides. There are several similar sites in the area. The mountainous geography makes access quite difficult. This temple is only about 5 km southwest of Linzhou as the crow flies, to get there requires an 80 km 2.5 h drive on narrow and winding roads. There are single lane road tunnels and narrow sections of the road. The best way to visit those sites is to book a day trip, the place is difficult to find and a guide who knows the way is worth the money.