Friday (Day one)
Hanging Monastery (悬空寺 Xuankong si)
The monastery was built on the cliff of the Golden Dragon Canyon at the foot of Heng Mountain. It has a history of more than 1400 years. Basically, you are in a monastery hanging off a cliff. You lean over the railing and you see the ground. It's an incredible feeling. I actually felt surprisingly safe despite it being an ancient building and having a ton of people on it. The steps on the stairs had elaborate metal designs. The sculptures inside the monastery were painted in bright colors. The building itself was very pretty and all the small details added up and made this monastery breathtaking.
The monastery was built on the cliff of the Golden Dragon Canyon at the foot of Heng Mountain. It has a history of more than 1400 years. Basically, you are in a monastery hanging off a cliff. You lean over the railing and you see the ground. It's an incredible feeling. I actually felt surprisingly safe despite it being an ancient building and having a ton of people on it. The steps on the stairs had elaborate metal designs. The sculptures inside the monastery were painted in bright colors. The building itself was very pretty and all the small details added up and made this monastery breathtaking.
Heng Mountain (恒山 Hengshan)
I think the best part of climbing this mountain was the view. My friend and I decided to walk up the mountain instead of take the cable cart and every time we stopped we had an amazing view of the landscape - the mountains, a river, and of course the still polluted sky. Once we reached the top there were antique buildings and temples. We walked around them and went inside some of them too.
I think the best part of climbing this mountain was the view. My friend and I decided to walk up the mountain instead of take the cable cart and every time we stopped we had an amazing view of the landscape - the mountains, a river, and of course the still polluted sky. Once we reached the top there were antique buildings and temples. We walked around them and went inside some of them too.
Wooden Pagoda (应县木塔 Yingxian muta)
One of the highlights of being in China. During the spring semester I took a course on Chinese Modern Art and the World. One of the topics was architecture, and we actually studied this exact pagoda. I studied the floor plans and cross sections of this pagoda in the States, and now I'm actually standing in front of it. It was quite a feeling. This pagoda is one of the oldest wooden buildings in the world. Not a single nails was used in the construction of it, although I saw some nails while I was there (I guess its okay to use them during renovations.) When you walk inside you see a huge Buddha surrounded by paintings. The paintings on the wall are now fading and there is no light in the hall to preserve the images. Then you walk up very narrow stairs and reach the second level (there are nine levels in total but you are only allowed to visit the first and second levels). In the middle of the second level there are more religious sculptures and as you walk around you feel that the whole building is slanted and curving in because of the structure. I loved it, but I was disappointed with the maintenance of the building because one of the wooden doors from the 11th century was just lying on the ground as if it was trash. The pagoda is actually in a monastery complex so there are other buildings surrounding the pagoda. I was thrilled to visit this wooden pagoda!
One of the highlights of being in China. During the spring semester I took a course on Chinese Modern Art and the World. One of the topics was architecture, and we actually studied this exact pagoda. I studied the floor plans and cross sections of this pagoda in the States, and now I'm actually standing in front of it. It was quite a feeling. This pagoda is one of the oldest wooden buildings in the world. Not a single nails was used in the construction of it, although I saw some nails while I was there (I guess its okay to use them during renovations.) When you walk inside you see a huge Buddha surrounded by paintings. The paintings on the wall are now fading and there is no light in the hall to preserve the images. Then you walk up very narrow stairs and reach the second level (there are nine levels in total but you are only allowed to visit the first and second levels). In the middle of the second level there are more religious sculptures and as you walk around you feel that the whole building is slanted and curving in because of the structure. I loved it, but I was disappointed with the maintenance of the building because one of the wooden doors from the 11th century was just lying on the ground as if it was trash. The pagoda is actually in a monastery complex so there are other buildings surrounding the pagoda. I was thrilled to visit this wooden pagoda!
After all the sight seeing we had dinner at a local Chinese restaurant - on the sticky tables, where flies are flying around, and people spit on the restaurant floor. I had noodles with tomato and egg. It was very yummy and I didn't get sick. Then we all went to bed at around 10 or 11 because we had another adventure filled day Saturday.
Saturday (Day two)
Saturday (Day two)
The Yungang Grottoes ( 云冈石窟 Yungang shiku)
What a site! The Yungang Grottoes are the largest Buddha statue complex preserved in China. In AD 460, five grottoes were excavated and within the following 60+ years the immense project was completes. The Buddha statue complex stretched 15 km; now it only stretches 1 km from east to west. Luckily, more than 1100 grottoes (there are 53 major grottoes) with about 51000 statues have been preserved. It was so beautiful. You could go into some of the grottoes and admire the statues in the middle and the carvings on the walls. In other cases, you could only lean on the railings and peak inside. Some of the statues were huge, others were the size of my pinky. It really was impressive.
Huayuan Monastery (华严寺 Huayan si)
We literally spent 15 minutes here. I'm not sure if it was enough, but we saw the main attraction: the main hall. The main hall is the largest Buddhist hall that still exists in China. Inside the hall, there are five huge, gilded, seated Buddha statues on lotus throngs. The surrounding walls have murals; the main hall was very colorful. What shocked me the most was that this place still exists. During the Cultural Revolution many historic places were destroyed, but luckily this one still stands.
What a site! The Yungang Grottoes are the largest Buddha statue complex preserved in China. In AD 460, five grottoes were excavated and within the following 60+ years the immense project was completes. The Buddha statue complex stretched 15 km; now it only stretches 1 km from east to west. Luckily, more than 1100 grottoes (there are 53 major grottoes) with about 51000 statues have been preserved. It was so beautiful. You could go into some of the grottoes and admire the statues in the middle and the carvings on the walls. In other cases, you could only lean on the railings and peak inside. Some of the statues were huge, others were the size of my pinky. It really was impressive.
Huayuan Monastery (华严寺 Huayan si)
We literally spent 15 minutes here. I'm not sure if it was enough, but we saw the main attraction: the main hall. The main hall is the largest Buddhist hall that still exists in China. Inside the hall, there are five huge, gilded, seated Buddha statues on lotus throngs. The surrounding walls have murals; the main hall was very colorful. What shocked me the most was that this place still exists. During the Cultural Revolution many historic places were destroyed, but luckily this one still stands.
Nine Dragon Screen (九龙壁 Jiulong bi)
You said it, it is a screen wall. This screen was built over 600 years ago and remains the largest and oldest glazed screen in China today. Datong is known as the “Home of Dragon Walls.” During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, five dragon screens were built and still stand. The Nine dragon screen was originally a screen wall in front of the gate of the palace of Prince Dai, the thirteenth son of the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty. It is 8 meters high and 45.5meters long. The colors are still very fresh, and the dragon figures remind you of the typical and traditional Chinese dragon. I hear Beihai Park in Beijing also has a screen, but it is much smaller.
You said it, it is a screen wall. This screen was built over 600 years ago and remains the largest and oldest glazed screen in China today. Datong is known as the “Home of Dragon Walls.” During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, five dragon screens were built and still stand. The Nine dragon screen was originally a screen wall in front of the gate of the palace of Prince Dai, the thirteenth son of the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty. It is 8 meters high and 45.5meters long. The colors are still very fresh, and the dragon figures remind you of the typical and traditional Chinese dragon. I hear Beihai Park in Beijing also has a screen, but it is much smaller.
Overall, the trip was similar to cramming for an exam - you do everything at a very fast pace. I wish we would have had more time to really sightsee. On Saturday we actually only did half a day of sightseeing, which was a waste of the second half of the day because they wanted to give us free time but there is not much to do in Datong so my roommate and I just slept half of the afternoon. We ended up leaving Saturday night at around 11ish and got back to Beijing Sunday morning. ACC wanted to make sure that we had at least one day to prepare for our classes on Monday. Ridiculous, we should have done some sightseeing on Sunday as well. Oh well, at least I got a taste of what it's like to be a Chinese tourists and see some amazing sights.
Yungang Grottoes
Huayuan Monastery
Nine Dragon Screen
Yingxian Wooden Pagoda
Yungang Grottoes
Huayuan Monastery
Nine Dragon Screen
Yingxian Wooden Pagoda
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