Meidaizhao Monastery
美岱召（寿灵寺）
A monastery-fortress built by the Altan Khan family of the Tümed Mongols in the Ming dynasty, often called the 'Ming-era fortress on the grassland.'
Meidaizhao is a national key cultural relic protection unit. It was first built during the Longqing reign of the Ming dynasty, under the direction of Altan Khan (Anda Khan), leader of the Tümed Mongols. Surrounded by rammed-earth walls faced with brick and corner towers, it houses the Great Hall of Buddha, the Glazed Hall, the Empress Dowager Temple, the Dalai Lama Temple, the Octagonal Temple and more. Its layout, a monastery combined with a fortress and a residence within the temple, is rare, and it is an important witness to the spread of Gelug Tibetan Buddhism into Mongolia. The Great Hall of Buddha retains large Ming-era murals depicting Buddhist stories and donor portraits of Altan Khan's family, which are of very high artistic value. The Glazed Hall is a three-tiered pavilion with a xieshan (hip-and-gable) roof and elaborate dougong brackets. You can climb the walls and walk the full circuit for views of the Daqing Mountains and the temple roofs. Beside the site is the Meidaizhao Museum. Meidaizhao is in Meidaizhao Town, Tümed Right Banner, about 60 kilometers from downtown Baotou and 100 kilometers from Hohhot. Meidaizhao Station on the Baotou-Xi'an Railway is nearby, and the Beijing-Tibet Expressway also gives direct access. Admission is several dozen yuan (confirm on site). It can be combined with Wudangzhao in a one-day loop.
Opening hours
Approx. 08:00–18:00 (shorter in winter)
Nearby sights
- Jiufeng Mountain
- Chunkun Mountain
- Wudangzhao Monastery
- Zhuanlongzang Park
- Fuzheng Temple (Baotou Zhao)
- Nanhai Wetland
- Lüzu Temple
- Guyang Qin Great Wall