Calvin’s Hub

When we arrived at Datong at around 7AM, we hired a driver to take us to two of its tourist destinations, the Hanging Monastery and the Yungang Grottoes. Our first stop was the Hanging Monastery.

The Hanging Monastery is located 65 kilometers away from Datong City (about an hour and a half hour car ride). It is a Buddhist Monastery situated on the cliff side near the foot of Heng Mountain which is one of the Five Sacred Mountains of Taoism.

It is a wooden temple built in 491 with wooden posts for support as it clings on the cliff side. Knowing how old it is, it’s really an ancient architectural feat.

Because it was winter, we were the only visitor there when we arrived at around 8:30AM. It was quiet and cold and we even saw some leftover snow from the previous week’s snowfall. The riverbed was dry as well.

My sister told us that it was very rare that there are no other tourists around and to have the place all to ourselves. If you look at photos of the place on the internet, mostly there are people included.

Usually, it takes a while to tour this place because they only allow a limited number of people on its narrow walkway at a time. Yay for us! Hooray for winter I guess.

One of the amazing things about this monastery is the mixture of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism elements. There’s a sculpture of Sakyamuni, Confucius and Laotzu together inside one of the rooms.

However, the most notable statues are in the Hall of Three Saints which has true-to-life sculptures of Weituo, Sakyamuni and the Guardian.

Here are some more shots of the place:

Thanks to my sister for taking some of the photos.

We did the whole tour in under an hour and couldn’t stay much longer because it was really freezing in the place. Couldn’t wait to get into the heater warmth of our ride. It was really one amazing place that took my breathe away when I saw it.

Next stop is the Yungang Grottoes.

TOTAL COST:
Entrance ticket – 55RMB

Part 6: Datong – Yungang Grottoes

• Touring Beijing in Winter Part 6: Datong – Yungang Grottoes
• Touring Beijing in Winter Part 4: Going to Datong
• Touring Beijing in Winter Part 1: The Plan
• Touring Beijing in Winter Part 12: Old Summer Palace

Filed under: Travel