Linfen, Shanxi - Guangsheng Temple

The Four Great Ancient Pagodas in China: The Glazed Feihong Pagoda, Guangsheng Temple in Hongdong, Shanxi Guangsheng Temple was first built in the Han Dynasty and is divided into the Upper Temple, Lower Temple and Water God Temple. Except for the Feihong Pagoda and the Main Hall of the Upper Temple which were rebuilt in the Ming Dynasty, the rest are buildings from the Yuan Dynasty. Guangsheng Temple has three unique features: Feihong Tower of Shangsi Temple: It is octagonal in shape and has 13 floors. The tower is 47.31 meters high. It is the tallest colorful glazed tower in the world and also the most complete and oldest glazed tower in existence. The carvings on each floor are extremely exquisite. The scene where Tang Monk sweeps the pagoda in the 1986 CCTV version of Journey to the West, "Sweeping the Pagoda and Disputing the Injustice", was filmed here. Yuan Dynasty murals in the Rishui Temple: There are nearly 200 square meters of Yuan Dynasty murals on the four walls of the Rishui Temple. This is "the only example of murals in ancient my country that are not about Buddhism or Taoism." Among them, the drama mural "Yuan Dynasty Drama" on the east side of the south wall is one of the three wonders of Guangsheng Temple and it is also the only large-scale Yuan Dynasty drama mural discovered in my country. The daily opening hours are only from 10:30 to 11:30 in the morning and from 15:30 to 16:30 in the afternoon. However, it is open all the time due to the large number of people during the National Day holiday. The notice reads "If you miss the visiting time, please contact the staff for free admission." 3. "Zhaocheng Golden Canon": A replica of the "Kaibaozang" brought back from India by Master Sanzang of the Tang Dynasty. It was named because it was engraved in the Jin Dynasty and stored in Zhaocheng (now Hongdong). It is the only copy in my country's Tripitaka. It is now kept in the National Library and is listed as one of the four treasures of the National Library together with the "Yongle Encyclopedia", "Siku Quanshu" and "Dunhuang Manuscripts". In addition to the three wonders, the "human-shaped inclined beams" in the front Buddha Hall and the "hanging statues" in the Ksitigarbha Hall are also worth a careful look. Unfortunately, the large Yuan Dynasty murals on the four walls of the rear Buddhist hall were stolen and sold abroad before liberation. The mural "Buddha of Brilliant Light Preaching" in the Chinese Temple Exhibition Hall of the Nelson-Atkins Museum in Kansas City, USA, comes from here. [Shuttle The upper temple is at the top of the mountain, and the lower temple is at the foot of the mountain. It is quite tiring to climb to the upper temple, so it is recommended to buy at least a one-way ticket. The one-way ticket is 10 yuan and the round-trip ticket is 20 yuan. Only round-trip tickets are available when you buy tickets online, but it is still a few yuan cheaper. The parking lot is quite far from the ticket gate and shuttle bus, and you have to walk a few hundred meters. The shuttle bus is divided into 3 sections: 1Starting point: Go directly to the Shangsi Temple on the top of the mountain, where the Feihong Tower is located. 2 Upper Temple and Lower Temple: After visiting the Upper Temple, you can take the return shuttle bus to the Lower Temple to see the Water God Temple. 3 Starting point of Xiasi Temple: You can take the shuttle bus down the mountain to return to the starting point without ticket inspection. Tickets] Tickets purchased one day in advance cost 45 yuan, and the shuttle bus costs 20 yuan round trip. You can scan the code to enter the park and do not need to bring your ID card. [Opening hours] 9:00-17:00, the recommended visiting time is 2.5 hours. 【Location] It is 45 kilometers north of Linfen City and takes 1 hour to drive. P【Parking】 We drove to the "Guangsheng Temple Parking Lot". The parking lot is super large and it cost 10 yuan to park for nearly 3 hours.