Jinzhou Travel Recommendations for 2024 (Updated in Apr)

I converse with the millennia-old temple through my camera in Yixian County

Fengguo Temple is located within the city of Yixian in Jinzhou, Liaoning Province. It was founded in the ninth year of the Kaibao era of the Liao Dynasty (AD 1020) and encompasses ancient Chinese wooden architecture, sculpture, colored painting, mural, stone carving, stele, plaques, and more, possessing outstanding historical, cultural, artistic, and scientific value. The Fengguo Temple's Liao Dynasty Daxiong Hall is 55 meters long and 33 meters wide, with a total height of 24 meters. The architectural style is a combination of a five-ridged single-eave seven-bay hall and a pavilion-style wooden structure, which is the highest grade of ancient Chinese wooden architectural remains. In 1961, it was announced by the State Council as one of the first batch of national key cultural relics protection units, in 2008 it was rated as a national AAAA-level tourist attraction, in 2012 it entered the 'Chinese World Cultural Heritage Tentative List', and was included in the UNESCO 'World Heritage Tentative List'. Fengguo Temple is one of the three major Liao Dynasty temples in China, and its iconic ancient building—the Daxiong Hall—is the largest surviving ancient Buddha hall in the world, which can be called a world wonder. Inside the hall, there is the world's oldest and largest group of clay-colored Buddha statues. The hall has seven doors in the front, and inside, the main seven Buddhas sculpted during the Liao Dynasty are enshrined, from left to right they are: Kasyapa Buddha, Krakucchanda Buddha, Kanakamuni Buddha, Kashyapa Buddha, Vipasyin Buddha, Sikhin Buddha, and Sakyamuni Buddha. They are majestic and spiritually transcendent, all seated on Sumeru thrones, each over 9 meters tall.

May everyone who goes to Fengguo Temple come across this guide

Today's people do not see the ancient moon; the moon once shone upon the ancients. 【P1-P6】Fengguo Temple Photos simply cannot capture the shock felt the moment you step through the temple doors. Seven Liao dynasty clay Buddha statues, each over nine meters tall, are surrounded by the remnants of Tang dynasty murals, all standing together in the large hall built in 1004 with mortise and tenon joints. The tangible sense of history is overwhelming here. No amount of praise in words can compare to witnessing it with your own eyes. 【P7-P9】Wanfo Hall Grottoes Wei steles. The scenic area built along the river. To be honest, it's a bit disappointing; only very small areas have been preserved, and the damage is very severe. There are also no significant protective measures, which is truly regrettable. -

I was not deceived into living in a supreme national treasure that is 1004 years old

I have finally arrived at the Fengguo Temple in Yixian County, Jinzhou This royal temple, which was founded in the ninth year of the Liao Dynasty's Kaibao era (1020), ✅ The Mahavira Hall is the largest ancient hall remaining in China ✅ It houses the world's oldest and largest clay-colored statues ✅ Represents the highest level of Chinese architecture in the eleventh century ✅ One of China's first batch of key national cultural relics protection units ✅ Liang Sicheng called it a 'millennium national treasure, supreme national treasure' It is also the beloved filming location for director Wong Kar-wai's 'The Grandmaster' · In order to fully experience Fengguo Temple, I researched many sources before departure, and finally found a way to stay in the temple that even the locals don't know about It's like staying in Aman, which has a direct access channel to the Summer Palace The Xianxi Zen rooms allow me to have a secret passage directly to the Mahavira Hall without a ticket, and I can enter and exit an unlimited number of times It's like I have a room with a Buddha view In the morning, when I open my eyes, I can see the majestic Great Buddha Hall up close while lying in bed As night falls, I can enjoy the night sky and stars of Fengguo Temple all by myself Appreciating this ancient temple of a thousand years without being disturbed by tourists · Immersed in it, the shock is indescribable The changes of dynasties and the chaos of wars over the past one thousand and four years have never altered the layout inside the Mahavira Hall by a bit History and legend intertwine within it Two days and one night are simply not enough to appreciate the details of Fengguo Temple I will summarize more strategies for Fengguo Temple, Yixian, and Jinzhou and continue to post them

Liang Sicheng did not deceive me into living in a supreme national treasure that is 1004 years old

Jinzhou Yixian Fengguo Temple, a royal temple that was founded in the ninth year of the Liao Kai Tai era, this Grand Hall is the largest in scale among the ancient relics in China, and it also enshrines the world's oldest and largest clay-colored statues. This temple represents the highest level of Chinese architecture in the eleventh century, it is one of the first batch of national key cultural relics protection units in China. This temple is also highly esteemed, Liang Sicheng called it 'a millennium national treasure, a supreme national treasure', it is also the beloved shooting location for director Wong Kar-wai's film 'The Grandmaster'. In order to fully experience the charm of Fengguo Temple, after much research, I finally found a way to stay in Fengguo Temple, a method not even the locals know about. I stayed in the Xianxi Zen rooms, which provide a secret passage that leads directly to the Grand Hall, and I could enter and exit an unlimited number of times, making me feel as if I owned a room with a Buddha view. In the morning, as I opened my eyes, I could see the majestic Grand Buddha Hall up close from my bed; as night fell, I could enjoy the night sky of Fengguo Temple all to myself, undisturbed by tourists, admiring this ancient temple that has stood for a thousand years. Here, I deeply felt the awe of Fengguo Temple, with history and legend intertwined within, indescribable in words. A thousand and four years of dynastic changes and wars have not altered the layout inside the Grand Hall.

Jinzhou Tourism

Jinzhou Tourism★ The market in the Ancient Pagoda Park is really great to visit⛲️||| Event date: 9.29-10.6, every night from 18:00 to 21:00 Event location: Ancient Pagoda Park

Free! The blossoming mountain peach trees set against the ancient pagoda, which soars high into the clouds

Among the many parks in Beijing, the Ancient Pagoda Park is definitely one of the less popular ones, but its scenery is no less stunning. Within the park, there is a fitness trail that runs through all the beautiful sights. With few people and beautiful scenery, it is a great place for leisure, fitness, flower viewing, and taking children out for a walk. The Ancient Pagoda Park is located in the Wangsiying area in the southeastern part of Chaoyang District, Beijing. It consists of four major scenic areas: the West Gate area, the Central Lake area, the Mountain Flower Garden area, and the Ancient Pagoda area, covering an area of 55.7 hectares. The park is named after a Ming Dynasty Ten Directions Buddha Pagoda built in 1545 that stands within its grounds. ✅Here, you can see the Pingquan mountains lush with greenery, small bridges over flowing water, and combinations of pavilions and corridors, scenes that are no less beautiful than those in the south of the Yangtze River. ✅The Ten Directions Buddha Pagoda, also known as the Yanshou Temple Pagoda, is named for the relics of the Emperor's monks placed inside. It is one of the more intact Ming Dynasty dense-eave style brick pagodas in the Beijing area. The pagoda faces south from the north, is about 31 meters high, and is an octagonal nine-tiered dense-eave style brick pagoda. It was declared a 'city protected' site in 1990. ✅The park is planted with more than 200 varieties of trees, shrubs, and flowers, totaling about 220,000 plants. Recently, the park's mountain peach blossoms have reached their peak bloom, with clusters of pink flowers complementing the ancient pagoda and other ancient buildings. Magnolia and winter jasmine buds are about to bloom, attracting visitors to come and take pictures and create memories. The spring breeze is refreshing, and all things are reviving. It's time to add some spring colors to your outing! If you have time, it's recommended to take a walk here!

There are Liao towers, temples, and petrified wood in the park

The Liao Tower was restored in 1996, and it looks a bit new. Guangji Temple is not open during the Spring Festival. There are quite a few petrified forests in the park that were formed 170 million years ago and moved from Yi County.

Ancient architecture enthusiasts are shocked, this is the ancient architecture group of Jinzhou Guangji Temple

Guangji Temple ancient architecture group is located in the west corner of Laocheng North Street, Guta District, Jinzhou City, Liaoning Province. Da Guangji Temple, also known as Dafo Temple, was built in the Liao Dynasty according to the Ming Dynasty stele in the temple. It was destroyed by war at the end of the Yuan Dynasty and was rebuilt many times after the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty. The entire temple complex of Guangji Temple is compact, including Guangji Temple, Guangji Temple Pagoda, Jinzhou Tianhou Palace and Yijun Zhaizhong Shrine. It is the most complete tower and temple combined architecture in the western Liaoning region. The buildings inside look quite old, the wood carvings of the brackets and doors are mottled, and most of the patterns and stories depicted are blurred and invisible. The most shocking thing is the auspicious animal on the bracket in the first picture. I don't know how to call it because of my shallow knowledge. It feels alive, agile, panting, and about to burst out in the next second. Jinzhou Liao Tower is located in front of Da Guangji Temple and is a provincial cultural relic in Liaoning. According to the Ming Jiajing stele (written by Xuan Da patrol envoy Wen Gui), Gao Lin, a Zhongjing Grand Master of the Jin Dynasty, once wrote a 'Tower Record' saying that the tower was built in the third year of Liao Daozong Qingning (1057) to collect the relics of the queen. The tower is a brick solid heart dense eaves style, now 57 meters high. The tower body has eight sides, each side is carved with a Buddha, three treasure covers and two flying sky. The flying sky is soaring above, the Buddha is sitting in the niche, and the attendants are standing next to the niche. The tower eaves have thirteen layers, each corner originally had nanmu beams, supporting the eaves corners, and hanging copper bells, most of which have fallen off, and only 11 are left in the northwest corner. The top of the tower was knocked down by the Ming army with a cannon during the Yongle period. The brick carvings of beams, columns, brackets and decorations on the tower have also mostly fallen off. The tower base was repaired with green bricks in 1933.

Jinzhou Wanfo Temple Grottoes| The earliest and largest grotto group in Northeast China

|The earliest and largest grotto group in Northeast China. Wanfo Temple Grottoes, located on the north bank of the Daling River 9 kilometers northwest of Yixian County, Liaoning Province, is the earliest and largest grotto group in Northeast China as of 2015. It is also the northernmost and easternmost grotto group in the Northern Dynasties of China. The Wanfo Temple Grottoes were built during the Northern Wei Dynasty. Due to years of natural weathering and disrepair, most of the grottoes have been damaged and collapsed and no longer exist. It is hailed as a treasure trove of northern Chinese grotto sculpture art, and the Wanfo Temple Grottoes are also a scenic spot that integrates cultural and natural landscapes. It was designated as a national key cultural relics protection unit in 1988. The Wanfo Temple Grottoes are divided into east and west areas. The west area was excavated in the 23rd year of Taihe in the Northern Wei Dynasty (499 AD) by Yuan Jing, the General of Pingdong and the Governor of Yingzhou, to pray for blessings for Emperor Xiaowen. The east area was excavated in the third year of Jingming of the Northern Wei Dynasty (502 AD) by Han Zhen, the envoy to comfort the Khitan, and his officers and soldiers to pray for blessings for the people. The west area is the essence of the entire Wanfo Temple Grottoes. ✅West area ▪️The central square tower-type grotto left over from the Northern Wei Dynasty is the largest and most exciting grotto in the Wanfo Temple Grottoes. Its three sides of the cliff have Buddha statues, and the upper part has many painted Buddha statues. Although it has gone through more than 1,500 years and has been greatly damaged, it can still see its once magnificent and magnificent, with a typical Northern Wei grotto sculpture style. ▪️The second, third and fourth grottoes: connected together, the south wall is carved with small Buddhas in the style of a thousand Buddhas and flying apsaras reliefs, as well as small Maitreya statues in conversation, which are a miniature of the sixth grotto Maitreya with crossed legs. ▪️The symbol of the Wanfo Temple Grottoes, "Maitreya with crossed legs". It is 3.2 meters high, with drooping eyebrows and eyes, smiling but not smiling, thin and clear, and is the largest and earliest Maitreya Buddha statue in the Northeast Grottoes. But because of its age, weathering and destruction are very serious. ▪️The statue stele of Yuan Jing, the General of Pingdong and the Governor of Yingzhou. This stele was built during the excavation period of the Wanfo Temple (499 AD). Its preciousness lies not only in the calligraphy art of "opening the sky and shining brightly", but also in its historical significance. It refutes the nonsense of foreign forces that "the territory north of the Great Wall has never been China's territory since ancient times". ▪️The cliff inside the cave. There are rows of painted relief small Buddhas carved on it, and there is also a small Bodhisattva with crossed legs, with kneeling attendants on both sides. ✅East area ▪️Thousand-hand and thousand-eye Guanyin. There are fewer stone carvings in the east area, and the thousand-hand and thousand-eye Guanyin is the essence of the east grottoes. Guanyin sits on the throne, with 46 hands stretching out from around her body, each hand has an eye, looking down at all beings. ▪️A very small "Laughing Buddha" carved on the cliff. If you bump into it inadvertently, you will really laugh with this Buddha statue, which is very vivid and highly infectious. ▪️Round small pagoda. Built in the tenth year of Chenghua in the Ming Dynasty (1474). ✅Small tips 📍Grotto location: Wanfo Temple Village, Toutai Township, Yixian County, Jinzhou City, Liaoning Province 🚘Transportation: After arriving in Yixian County, you can charter a car to and from the Wanfo Temple in the city. The driver can wait for more than 1h for tourists to watch. After the visit, return to the county seat. The round-trip charter is generally 80 yuan. 🕐Day scene: 08:30-15:30 Stop admission at 15:00 Night scene: 17:30-21:30 Stop admission at 21:00

Lesser-known grottoes - Wanfo Hall Grottoes

The grottoes are relatively small and can be visited together with the Fengguo Temple in Yixian County. The overall damage is quite severe, with few remaining, but you can still see the smile of the Buddha~ I have collected some information for reference. Wanfo Hall Grottoes, located on the north bank of the Daling River, 9 kilometers northwest of Yixian County, Liaoning Province, is the earliest and largest group of grottoes in Northeast China as of 2015. It is also the northernmost and easternmost group of grottoes in the Northern Dynasties of China. The Wanfo Hall Grottoes were built during the Northern Wei Dynasty. Due to years of natural weathering and lack of maintenance, most of the grottoes have been damaged and collapsed and no longer exist. It is hailed as a treasure trove of northern China's grotto sculpture art, and the Wanfo Hall Grottoes are also a scenic spot that integrates cultural and natural landscapes. It was designated as a national key cultural relics protection unit in 1988. The lower layer of Wanfo Hall Grottoes has 6 grottoes, arranged from east to west. Entering the first grotto, the door is engraved with the four big characters of 'Buddha's Light Shines Everywhere'. The grotto is square, about five meters high, each side is about one meter, there is a square stone pillar in the center, connected to the top of the grotto, the square stone pillar is full of fine carvings, the Buddha statue on the dust arch, the worshiper statue and the Buddha statue inside the upper Buddha, the attendant and the arc-shaped flower canopy, the born child, the flying sky on the top of the grotto, the thousand Buddha-style seated Buddha on the wall inside the door, are all typical mid-Northern Wei sculptures, with vigorous knife skills. The eastern area has seven grottoes, built in the third year of Jingming of the Northern Wei Dynasty, which were private grottoes built by Han Zhen and others, the envoys of the Yuyue Khitan, for blessings. The western area has a total of 9 grottoes, divided into two layers, the upper layer has 3 small grottoes, the stone carvings inside the grotto have been weathered and no longer exist. The inscription of the fifth grotto is an important historical material, and it was written by General Pingdong Yuanjing in 499 AD when the cliff was built, and it was rated as 'the best of all the steles of the Yuan and Wei Dynasties' by Kang Youwei in the late Qing Dynasty. There is a small round pagoda on the top of the grotto, built by the General of the Cavalry, Wang Kai, in the tenth year of Chenghua of the Ming Dynasty (1474 AD) to celebrate his mother's birthday. The first grotto in the western area is the largest, with three Buddhas carved on each of the east, west and north walls. The Buddha statues and the statues of the worshippers on the upper part of the square pillar in the center of the grotto. The four Buddha statues at the bottom were carved by later generations. The main statue of the sixth grotto is the cross-legged Maitreya. Yuanjing's statue inscription is carved on the south wall of the fifth grotto. There are 7 grottoes in the eastern area, and most of the statues have been weathered and no longer exist. The third grotto has a thousand-armed Guanyin and two attendant Bodhisattvas. Han Zhen's statue inscription is carved on the south wall of the fourth grotto.

The oldest and only large-scale stone carving group in the Northeast region

Art of stone caves is distributed all over China, north and south of the Yangtze River, inside and outside the Great Wall, the most representative stone caves in the Northeast region are in Yixian County's Wanfo Hall. Wanfo Hall Stone Cave is located on the cliff on the north bank of the Dalin River, 9 kilometers northwest of Yixian County, Jinzhou City, Liaoning Province. It costs 50 yuan to take a taxi from the city, and it is recommended to ask the driver to wait at the door, as it is difficult to get a taxi on the way back. 🕘Tour time: 1-1.5 hours Wanfo Hall Stone Cave was built during the Taihe period of the Northern Wei Dynasty (AD 499), and was excavated by Yuan Jing, the then General Pingdong and the governor of Yingzhou, to pray for the Emperor Xiaowen, and invited Tanyao to preside over the excavation (Tanyao was also the supervisor of the Yungang Grottoes). Unfortunately, the preservation of the stone caves is not good, and the valuable stone caves are only 2-3. The sixth cave, the cross-legged Maitreya, is a typical Northern Wei statue, The first cave is not allowed to take pictures, the central square tower cave, there are Buddha statues and donor figures on the column body and around, there are the same mountain leaf banana flower shapes on the column head as in the Yungang Grottoes, but overall it looks much rougher. The recently added statue of Guan Gong and the Buddha statues and murals stuffed in each cave are vulgar and out of place, and are a poor continuation. The protection of cultural relics requires funds, technology, and most importantly, the support of concepts. Otherwise, the so-called protection behavior is more destructive than inaction. 📍Address: South side of Wanfo Hall Village, Yixian County, Jinzhou City, Liaoning Province 🎫Ticket: 40/person (Ctrip booking 35/person)

Jinzhou | 'Reverse tourism' avoids crowds

| 'Reverse tourism' avoids crowds.📍Location Photos 1-8 Jiangjiatun Jinzhou Reservoir Protection Area, abandoned unfinished building on the third floor is very photogenic, can be called Jinzhou's 'Little Erhai Lake' Photos 9-16 Navigate to Qinggou Bay Cross-sea bridge is currently closed ⚠️ ⭕️But you can communicate with the gatekeeper The beach under the bridge is also very photogenic, mainly because there are few people Photos 17-18 Longtou Reef You can watch the sunrise and sunset, the rocks below are very photogenic, and you can also go tide pooling Photo editing ▶️ Use Meitu XiuXiu for color adjustment For photo poses, do whatever comes naturally, the photographer captures the most authentic moments

Dragon Head Reef in winter

I drove to Jinzhou to see the frozen sea during the Spring Festival. Dragon Head Reef is the first choice destination to see the frozen sea. It takes about forty minutes to drive from the Xi'an Hotel in Donghu, Jinzhou. The car can be driven to a slope not far from the reef. There were not many people during the Spring Festival, the wind was strong, and it was cold on the face. On the way back, I passed a beach and saw an abandoned fishery administration boat, which was good for taking pictures.

I stayed at the Yujinxiang Hotel on Central Street in Jinzhou with my family during the holiday

I am very satisfied with this hotel experience. The staff service was very friendly and enthusiastic, giving me a home away from home feeling. The room facilities are modern and comfortable, with soft and comfortable beds that allowed me to get a good rest. The hotel offers a wide selection of dining options, and the quality of breakfast is also very good. There is an underground parking lot which is convenient for parking. Overall, I am very satisfied with this stay and I will recommend this hotel to my friends and family.

Very nice and clean environment. Highly recommended for any person who goes in jinzhou just for few days#freehotelstay