HENGSHAN 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.

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.