Xiantong Temple

显通寺

The oldest and largest temple on Mount Wutai, founded in the Yongping era of the Eastern Han. Its Ming-dynasty Wuliang Hall and Bronze Hall are the most distinctive buildings in the complex.

Xiantong Temple sits in the center of Taihuai Town, north of Tayuan Temple. Legend says it was founded in 68 CE, in the 11th year of the Yongping era of the Eastern Han, at the same time as Baima Temple in Luoyang. Originally called Dafu Lingjiu Temple, it is the foremost temple of Mount Wutai and one of the earliest Buddhist temples in China. Most surviving buildings date from the Ming and Qing dynasties. The temple covers 80,000 square meters with more than 400 halls and pavilions. The central axis has seven sets of halls in sequence: the Guanyin Hall, the Great Manjushri Hall, the Mahavira Hall, the Wuliang Hall, the Thousand-Bowl Manjushri Hall, the Bronze Hall and the Sutra Library. Wuliang Hall (the Hall of Immeasurable Light) is a Ming-dynasty structure built entirely of brick in the style of a wooden building, with no beams or columns, which is extremely rare. The Bronze Hall was built in 1609 during the Wanli era, cast with 100,000 jin of bronze, and its inner walls are covered with 10,000 small Buddhas. The two bronze pagodas in front of it are exquisite. The Thousand-Bowl Manjushri Hall has a Manjushri statue with a thousand arms and a thousand bowls. The Mahavira Hall is the largest hall on Mount Wutai, where monks gather for ceremonies. The bell tower by the temple gate holds a Ming bronze bell weighing 9,999 jin, whose sound carries for miles. A visit takes about 1 to 1.5 hours, and you can enter from the back gate of Tayuan Temple. Entry costs about 10 yuan. Getting there: Taihuai Town is walkable, and together with Tayuan Temple, Pusading Temple and Luohou Temple, it forms a pilgrimage route of under 2 km. Notes: photography is forbidden inside the halls. The classic view of the Great White Pagoda and Pusading is from the terrace of the Bronze Hall. Morning service begins around 05:00, and you can quietly attend it.

Xiantong Temple

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