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Hanging Monastery
Located at Hunyuan County of Shanxi Province,
Hengshan Hanging Monastery was built at the later period
of northern Wei about 1400 years ago. It is an immortal
masterpiece of ancient architecture and a piece crystallization
of workmanship and resourcefulness.
The Hanging Monastery with Cuiping Mountain behind is opposite
to the north mountain - the Hengshan Mountain. The clusters
of architecture, over 40 buildings of them, are evenly distributed
and well-balanced in height. In the monastery are over 80
statues; some are cast with bronze, some with iron, some
with clay and some are carved out of stone. Sakyamuni, the
founder of Buddhism, the Child Giving Avalokitesvara, Ludongping
of Taoism and others are living together friendly and harmoniously
which give one some thought that each and every sect of
religions wants to capture a seat in such an extraordinary
monastery.
The Hanging Monastery has established
its unique position among the various temples and monasteries
with its characteristics of "peril, workmanship and
miracle".
The perilous situation of the Hanging
Monastery makes one feel dumbfounded. Walking a few miles
deep into the canyon, you will see in the curling up clouds
and mists, pavilions in the air, hanging on the precipice.
These pavilions are propped up by a few pillars with a diameter
of an ordinary bowl. The majority of the building body is
suspending in the air.
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The workmanship of the Hanging Monastery
lies in the fact that with the supporting beams as its basis
and the skilful utilization of the hidden rocks, the whole
building is uniquely well-knit into an integral whole and
the balustrades are artistically connected. The layout of
the monastery structure is in excellent symmetry with variations,
well-connected though scattered at various points, and still
in good proportion though extraordinarily complicated. The
main structure consists of over 40 halls pavilions, all
of which are made of wood. The mountains are excavated at
halfway to create grottoes and within the niches Buddhas
are enshrined. Monasteries like this more than 1000 years
ago can be lauded as "superb craftsmanship excelling
nature".
The miracle of the Hanging Monastery makes
one feel as if he were in the imperial palace. Entering
the monastery courtyard, you can find auxiliary pavilions
on the north and south ends well-proportioned and connected
with hanging ladders. There hang on precipice are two pieces
of grand flying towers with three layers and nine ridges.
The main part of the tower is basically hanging in the air,
standing facing each other from north down south. In between
the two towers is a broken cliff several decades of meters
long; a plank road is built along the face of the cliff.
It is the most precipitous part of the Hanging Monastery.
There are corridors surrounding three sides of the Flying
Tower. You can climb up and down with the help of the stone
balustrades; it looks as if you were in the labyrinth. On
each side of the plank road are carvings of tall Buddhist
statues, sitting on the cliff with serene dignity and composure.
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