Shanhua Monastery


Shanhua Monastery (also called Nan Temple or South Temple) is located in central Datong within the
old city walls. It was first constructed during the Tang Dynasty (618-907AD) though most of the present
wooden building dates back to the 12th century. During the Jin Dynasty (1115 - 1234) it was rebuilt on a
large scale. The extant layout is the best-preserved temple of the Liao and Jin dynasties.

Covering an area of nearly 14, 000 square meters (over 16, 700 square yards) Shanhua Temple has three
main buildings: the Gate, the Hall of the Three Saints and the most important building, Da Xiong Bao
Dian.

In the Hall of the Three Saints, stand three statues representing Sakyamuni, Bodhisattva Puxian and
Bodhisattva Wenshu - the Three Saints of Huayan in Buddhism.

The best of the buildings is probably the Grand Hall (Daxiong baodian), housing 5 Buddhas and 24 divine generals, that stands on a terrace at the
far back of the temple. On the eastern and western sides of these five statues, there are 24 gods, beautifully and realistically shaped. Among them
, the God of the Sun's Palace and the God of the Moon's Palace are artistic masterpieces from the Jin Dynasty (1115 - 1234). There is one palace
on each side of the Grand Hall. One is the palace of Bodhisattva Puxian and the other is the palace ruins of Bodhisattva Wenshu.

There is also an interesting Dragon Screen (Longbi) in the the temple, although it is no match for the larger
Nine Dragon Screen in town. There also still remain a few relics from the temple's early dynasties, including
around 30 Liao and Jin statues, and one hall still in strict Tang style.

Today, the temple proper is a good manifestation of the traditional Chinese architectural philosophy, with most
of the buildings located in careful symmetry and all the main constructions standing along a north-south axis.