The Hanging Temple is located on the crag of Jinlongkou west cliff at
the foot of Hengshan Mountain, 5 kilometers to the south from Hunyuan
County, Shanxi Province. Hengshan Mountain is known as the North Mountain of the Five Sacred
Mountains in China. The Hanging Temple was built on the Jinlong Valley
at the foot of Hengshan Mountain, which is 80 kilometers away from
Datong City. According to the History of Hengshan Mountain, the Hanging
Temple was first built at the end of the Northern Wei Dynasty (about the
sixth century).
All buildings in the temple were hung on the crag at the slope of
Hengshan Mountain. The buildings stand vertical to the cliff, and the
peak of the cliff seems upside down. Seen from upwards, the whole
building seems that it just sticks to the cliff. Facing south to
Hengshan Mountain, the temple is under the crags and on the cloughs,
with red walls and gray tiles. Strew at random and spread in the air, it
just like a flying little phoenix.
The buildings are arrayed in a line from the south of the cliff to the
north, and heightened gradually like a dragon pronating on the cliff.
More than forty halls, rooms and pavilions in the temple are divided to
three groups. Passing through the temple gate, one can reach a
two-storeyed building. As the stele pavilions and the gate towers, two
tall buildings stand face to face in the yard. There are two bell and
drum towers on both sides of the temple gate, and they are square side
pavilions.
hanging temple of Hengsan, China
