Guangsheng Temple

Guangsheng Temple is a millennium-old ancient monastery located at the foot of Huo Mountain in Hongtong County, Shanxi Province, built during the Yuan and Ming dynasties. Guangsheng Temple consists of three groups of ancient buildings: the Upper Guangsheng Temple, the Lower Guangsheng Temple, and the Water God Temple. The Upper Temple, which stands atop the mountain; the Lower Temple, situated at the foot of the mountain facing Huo Spring; and the Water God Temple to the west of the Lower Temple. The buildings of the Lower Temple were mostly constructed during the Yuan dynasty, while the Upper Temple was largely rebuilt during the Ming dynasty. Visiting Guangsheng Temple, one can see not only the Buddhist hall architecture, the Ming dynasty's Feihong Pagoda (the world's tallest glazed pagoda), and the clay Buddha statues in the Amitabha Hall, but also Yuan and Ming dynasty murals. Regrettably, the Yuan dynasty murals in the Lower Temple's Mahavira Hall were stolen and sold to the United States, but fortunately, the three large stone Buddha statues are well preserved. Despite the poor weather, our interest in visiting was not diminished. Seeing the devoutness of our ancestors towards their faith and their achievements in artistic creation, we were genuinely moved and filled with admiration! Transportation: From the Linfen city area, take bus 301 (5 yuan/person) to Hongtong, then transfer to bus 22 (3 yuan/person) to Guangsheng Temple scenic area. Get off and walk about 1 kilometer to reach the destination.

Shanxi, you are so beautiful! The Yuan Dynasty murals in the Xia Si Rain God Temple at Guangsheng Temple, and the Feihong Tower in the Shang Si, are too beautiful! Great creations, they are also our most precious treasures today.

【Jinshan Jinmei·Hongtong·Rainbow flies across the sky, the glaze is dazzling】"Su San left Hongtong County", we entered Hongtong County, just to see the style of the world's first glazed pagoda, it is - Guangsheng Temple Rainbow Tower. The weather is beautiful, this rebuilt in the Ming Dynasty, and well-preserved Rainbow Tower under the blue sky and white clouds, brilliant. Of course, the Ming Dynasty murals of the Water God Temple, one of the three unique features of Guangsheng Temple, should not be missed. Tips1: The Rainbow Tower is a pavilion-style tower, a glazed tower, with a total of thirteen octagonal layers, the tower is 47.31 meters high, the outer contour shrinks layer by layer from bottom to top, shaped like a cone, all made of brick, with a cross hip roof. The tower is hollow, with a walkway to turn over, can climb up. Each layer has a glazed eaves, the bottom of the tower has a corridor, a group of patterns on each floor, and does not repeat. The entrance of the corridor on the south side protrudes a two-story room. There is a glazed caisson in the heart room of the bottom floor. The tower of the Rainbow Tower is a treasure bottle-shaped copper casting, the wheel is iron casting, and the tassel is green glaze. The glazed surface of the whole tower reflects the superb glaze firing skills and wisdom of the people of Shanxi, and is a representative work of Chinese glazed towers. Tips2: On the four walls of the Water God Temple, there are full of Yuan Dynasty murals, a total of 14, are the works of Yuan Taiding first year (1324 AD), according to the inscription, are drawn by folk painters in the area of Hongtong Zhaocheng at that time, these folk painters are clever in conception and exquisite in skills. The murals are mainly distributed on both sides of the front eaves corridor and the walls of the temple, covering an area of about 200 square meters. These murals are rich in content, rigorous in layout, and the characters in the picture are of different sizes, the tallest is about 1.8 meters, and the shortest is only more than 20 centimeters. Tips: The wisdom and metaphor of the ancients: The Water God Temple, intended to pray for rain, but the painting is, dressing (mirror), playing chess (game), playing ball (seek), selling fish (rain), however, each of the four murals takes a homophonic word, that is - "respectfully pray for rain". ⏳Play time: 2-4 hours 🚉Traffic strategy: It is recommended to drive by yourself, there is a large parking lot🅿️

Hongtong, a thousand-year-old county, is one of the birthplaces of ancient Chinese civilization, and also the origin of immigration with the widest radiation and greatest influence in our country's history of immigration. Guangsheng Temple, which was founded in the first year of Jianhe in the Eastern Han Dynasty, is located 17 kilometers northeast of Hongtong County, at the southern foot of Huoshan Mountain. It consists of the Upper Temple Feihong Tower and Amitabha Hall architectural group located at the top of the mountain, the Lower Temple architectural group at the foot of the mountain, and the Water God Temple, which preserves the most complete temple for the worship of the Water God in our country. It is said that Guangsheng Temple has three unique features: the exquisite murals in the Water God Temple in the Lower Temple, the towering and spectacular 'Rainbow Glazed Tower' in the Upper Temple, and the rare treasure 'Zhaocheng Gold Collection' once stored in the Amitabha Hall of the Upper Temple. When you come to the top of the mountain where the Upper Temple of Guangsheng Temple is located, the towering Feihong Tower will stand in front of you. The glazed pagoda has 13 levels, with a total height of 47.31 meters. The body of the tower gradually narrows from bottom to top, and the eaves can almost form a straight line, shaped like a cone. The entire Feihong Tower is exquisitely constructed and beautiful. The body of the tower is an octagonal plane. Except for the wooden corridor on the bottom floor, the others are all built of green bricks. Each floor has glazed eaves, and the glazed imitation wood structure and lotus petals are alternated, giving people a sense of towering into the clouds and exquisite beauty. The Feihong Tower is one of the five Buddha relic pagodas and one of the four ancient pagodas existing in China. It is also the only glazed pagoda found so far that has the inscription of craftsmen and the highest multicolored glazed pagoda in the world. What is astonishing is that the Feihong Tower has experienced an earthquake of more than 8 degrees in the 34th year of Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty, and the tower remains intact. Its exquisite design and unique shape made Mr. Chen Wanli, the father of ceramic archaeology and an expert in ancient Chinese ceramics who came to inspect in modern times, marvel at its 'miraculous craftsmanship'. The rare treasure 'Zhaocheng Gold Collection', which totals 6980 volumes and more than 60 million words, is praised by the Buddhist world as a 'unique secret book between heaven and earth'. It was carved in the early Jin Dynasty and was treasured and offered in Guangsheng Temple. The 'Zhaocheng Gold Collection' is the format of the first woodblock printed Tripitaka 'Kaibao Zang' in the Song Dynasty. This Tripitaka is a good translation of the Sanskrit scriptures brought back from Tianzhu by the Tang Dynasty Tripitaka Master Xuanzang. There is only one copy in the world, so it is regarded as a rare treasure. It is known as one of the four treasures of the National Library, along with the 'Yongle Encyclopedia', 'Siku Quanshu', and 'Dunhuang Manuscripts'. Guangsheng Temple

Guangsheng Temple is located at the southern foot of Huoshan, 17 kilometers northeast of Hongtong County. It was founded in the first year of Jianhe in the Eastern Han Dynasty (147), originally named Julu She Temple, also known as Ayuwang Tower Court, and was renamed Guangsheng Temple in the Tang Dynasty. Guangsheng Temple is divided into three parts: the upper temple, the lower temple, and the Water God Temple. The existing lower temple and the Water God Temple are mostly relics of the Yuan Dynasty; except for the Feihong Tower, which is a Ming Dynasty building, most of the upper temple still retains the architectural style of the Yuan Dynasty. Upper Temple Located at the top of Huoshan Mountain, it was founded in the Han Dynasty, and the existing one is a relic of the Ming Dynasty reconstruction, and the form and structure still have the style of the Yuan Dynasty. The temple borrows the mountain, which appears solemn and solemn. The layout of the upper temple is basically regular, and the central axis has a slight turn according to the terrain. The mountain gate, three rooms wide, hangs the 'Guangsheng Zen Court' on the door, and two vajras guard both sides. After the mountain gate is the tower courtyard, which is self-contained. Then the Amitabha Hall, the Great Hall of the Great, and the Pilu Hall are arranged in order. Feihong Tower It was built in the Zhengde period of the Ming Dynasty and is the most complete, oldest and most exquisite glazed tower that exists today. The Feihong Tower stands in front of the mountain gate of the upper temple. The tower body is built with blue bricks. Each layer has eaves. The exterior is inlaid with yellow, green, blue, purple, and white glazed components. The total height is 47.31 meters. The plane is octagonal and has a total of thirteen layers. The first, second and third layers are the most exquisite. Under the eaves, there are various components and patterns such as brackets, leaning columns, Buddha statues, Bodhisattvas, Vajras, flowers, coiled dragons, birds and beasts. The kneading is exquisite, the color painting is bright, and the color is still new. In the 34th year of Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty (1695), the Linfen earthquake of magnitude 8, this tower was safe and sound, showing its magic! In August 2018, the building was confirmed as the 'world's tallest multicolored glazed tower'. In addition, Feihong Tower is also the location of 'Sweeping the Tower and Distinguishing Strange Injustices' in Journey to the West! Lower Temple Located at the foot of Huoshan Mountain, it is more than 500 meters away from the upper temple. It is composed of the Heavenly King Hall, the Front Buddha Hall, and the Great Hall of the Great (the Back Buddha Hall). The mountain gate is towering, three rooms are square, single-eave hip roof, front and back eaves add rain sheds, and it looks like a double-eave building, which is a very unique Yuan Dynasty building. Water God Temple Located on the west side of the lower temple, it is the most complete temple for worshiping the water god in China today. It was not built later than the Tang Dynasty, including the mountain gate (Yuan Dynasty stage), the ceremonial gate, and the Ming Yingwang Hall. The Ming Yingwang Hall was built in the sixth year of Yuan Yanyou (1319). It is five rooms wide and deep, with a double-eave hip roof, surrounded by corridors, and nearly 200 square meters of various content of Yuan Dynasty murals on the four walls of the hall, with rain prayers, rain lines, and gods as the main line. This is the only mural in ancient China that does not take Buddhism and Taoism as its content. Among them, the drama mural on the east side of the south wall is known as one of the three absolutes of Guangsheng Temple (Feihong Tower, 'Zhaocheng Gold Collection', Water God Temple Yuan Dynasty Mural), and the ball-playing picture on the north side of the west wall was included in the 'Chinese History' textbook in 1998. Address: Guangsheng Temple Town, Hongtong County, Linfen City, Shanxi Province Transportation: Get off at Guangsheng Temple Scenic Area Station on Hongtong 21/22 Road Time: 8:00-18:30 Per capita: Tickets 55 yuan, scenic area shuttle bus 20 yuan Warm reminder: The Yuan Dynasty murals of the Water God Temple are national treasure-level cultural relics, open for a limited time, 10:30-11:30 in the morning, 15:30-16:30 in the afternoon

The history of the river is rolling forward, there are always a number of stories recorded and remembered, and there are a few stories disappearing in the clouds of time. In Hongdong, Shanxi, there is a Guangsheng Temple, the most famous Feihong Tower here, crossing five Hundreds of morning faints, but also in the years to maintain a long-lasting color, the radiance of the sun shines, like a rainbow, Guangsheng Temple has a long history, was built in 1 800 years ago, the famous national treasure - - The Yuan Dynasty drama murals are also drawn here.