悬空寺

Xuan Kong Si - Xuan Kong Monastery - The Hanging Temple - XuangongSi Monastery

Useful Information

Location:	Da Tong Shi, Hun Yuan Xian, 邮政编码: 037499. Mount Heng, Shanxi province. From Datong Coach Station in Yantong Road take bus 8. Also taxi or van. In the Jinlong Gorge on the western wall. (39.659244, 113.708768)
Open:	JUN to OCT daily 8-18. NOV to MAY daily 8:30-17:30. [2023]
Fee:	JUN to OCT Adults CNY 130. NOV to MAY Adults CNY 125. [2023]
Classification:	Cave Temple
Light:	n/a
Dimension:
Guided tours:	self guided, D=2-3 h.
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Xuan Kong Si, Da Tong Shi, Hun Yuan Xian, 邮政编码: 037499, Tel: +86-352-832-7795.
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

491	according to legend, construction of the temple was started by a monk named 了然 (Liaoran).
6th century	temple built by Taoist Monks.
1982	declared a Historic Monument.
2010	selected one of "The Top 10 Unique and Precipitous Architectures" by Times magazine.

Description

photography — 悬空寺- Xuan Kong Si, China. Public Domain.

悬空寺 (Xuan Kong Si, Hanging Temple) is built into the huge abri or overhanging cliff of Mount Heng, or better in the Jinlong Gorge near Hunyuan. The buildings follow the contours of the rock face, and are connected by bridges and walkways. They are located between 30 m and 75 m above the riverbed. The Yungang Grottoes and the Hanging Temple are the two main tourist attractions and historical sites in the Datong area.

According to legend, the construction of the temple was started by the Taoist monk named 了然 (Liaoran or Liao Ran) in the year 491. There is also a version that he built it alone, but most guess he found some Taoist associates. There is no evidence for the legends, but it is possible. The oldest parts of the remaining buildings are dated to the 6th century. Most likely, Liao Ran chose this place because of the calm and peaceful atmosphere inside the gorge. One of the main principles of Taoism is that temples should be built as far away from earthly sounds as possible. This place is extremely suitable for meditation and prayer. So he built the temple high above the ground so that flooding of the Hunyuan River would not cause any problems. And he used the ledge, because the overhanging cliff protects the temple from rain. During the summer monsoon rains, the temples stay dry. Many cave monasteries were built into cliff faces to avoid violence, to give the monks security from raids. This was here not the case.

The architecture is simple, pagodas built of wood. There were two techniques used for the basements. The first is a foundation of natural stones placed on the sloping rocky outcrop to form a horizontal platform for the temple. The other buildings stand on long beams that were hewn into 2 to 3 metre deep holes in the rock and protrude vertically from the rock face.

Taoism is a philosophical and religious movement which originated from the scholar Lao Tse (*604-✝507 BC). During the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534), Emperor Taiwu (471-499) became inspired by Taoism. Emperor Xiaowen had the Taoist Chongxu Temple built in Datong. The movement spread through Shanxi Province.

After the taoist beginning, the monastery was extended and renovated numerous times, and over time it became a monastery of three religions. The main renovations were in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Taoism, Buddhism and Confucianism are all likewise accepted at the monastery. This extraordinary leniency arises from the fact that all three religions do not have gods. They are philosophical theories. While Taoism originates from Lao Tse, Bhuddism are the teachings of Indian Siddhārtha Gautama, later called Buddha, and Confucianism was developed by Confucius (*551-✝479 BC).

The temple is said to have a total of 40 halls and pavilions which are all built on a cliff. The layers of the rock are not horizontal, so the ledge, which is formed by a weaker layer of rock, which is eroded faster, is ascending from the left to the right. The entrance to the temple is on the left or lower side, and from here each building is higher than the one before. For us, it looks like there are actually three buildings, the left one on a rock basement and the other two on the wooden beams. But it seems in China they count differently, though we could not find out how they got the number 40. However, the two "hanging" buildings seem to be built on a platform supported by vertical beams. But that’s just an illusion, they were actually placed there some time ago to make tourists think that this temple is stable. Nevertheless, the buildings are actually supported by the invisible horizontal beams which protrude from the rock.

The monastery contains an enormous number of statues, 80 sculptures made of copper, iron, terracotta, and stone. The sculptures of Siddhartha, Confucius and Lao Tse appear together. The room is called 三教合一 (Sān Jiào héyī, Unification of the three teachings).

Although this monastery is still more or less undisturbed, there were major constructions going on all around. Only 250 m up the gorge is a dam which forms the Hengshan Reservoir, with drinking water for the whole area. The outflow of the dam, a huge concrete portal, was built into the vertical cliff only a few meters from the entrance to the monastery. And there is the huge open cast mine in the next valley to the east, which is more than 10 km long. Today this area is far from being remote and calm.

We already mentioned the site is one of the most popular tourist sites. To protect the temple, the number of visitors is limited to 80 at a time. It is strongly recommended to visit early in the morning, especially during summer and school holidays. Western tourists best visit the site with an organized day trip, which will also care for the reservation.