Yingxian Wooden Pagoda

Admission is 60 RMB

The guards

Me @ Yingxian Wooden Pagoda

The oldest and tallest wooden structure in China

Surrounding area of Yingxian Wooden Pagoda

The entrance plaza

Only the ground and first floor of the pagoda are open to visitors

Big sitting Buddha on the ground floor

Interesting supporting figure

Rear of the sitting Buddha

Temple behind the Wooden Pagoda

The pagoda is octagon, 67.3 meter high

It has 5 floors and 6 eaves if you look it from outside

Puzzle time

New grand temple behind the current one

Not sure what this is

Caution, dog inside!

Beautiful flowers

Temple

Good luck charm

Buddha inside Yingxian Wooden Pagoda

The wooden pagoda did not use any nail or rivet

Entrance to wooden pagoda

Shopping area around wooden pagoda

The Hanging Monastery

Me @ The Hanging Monastery

Look at the long line!

Perched precariously halfway up a cliff some 20 meters above a river

This monastery appears to be glued to the side of a sheer precipice

View from the Hanging Monastery

The name *hanging* may be misleading though

Sunroof

Nice crafting

I must have waited for more than hour

It*s actually supported by stilts rather than built into the cliffside

Dragon

ChunYang Palace

It*s high!

Aka *Temple Suspended in the Void*

This architectual wonder was built in 490 and has been hanging here for 1400 years

The wooden column is a bit short

View from the Hanging Monastery

The stairs are the bottleneck for the long line

SanSheng Hall

Much of the current structure dates from the Ming and Qing Dynasties

The east most platform

SanJiao Hall

One way traffic to visit the temple

Looking down

The stairway are deep and narrow

Beautiful architechure

Still long line by the time I was done

SanGuan Hall

Beautiful architechure

Beautiful architechure

Have fun waiting!

Entrance to the Hanging Monastery

The Hanging Monastery

The Hanging Monastery

The Hanging Monastery

The Hanging Monastery

The hanging bridge to the Hanging Monastery

The Hanging Monastery

The Hanging Monastery

Heng Mountain gat

Freeway shoulder lunch

Cold noodles

Scenic enroute

New freeway soon to complete

Datong city

So many new apartments!

Yungang Grottoes

Beautiful lamp

International standard lobby

This is the beginning

First is walking through the many elephant columns (new)

Elephant column

Cross the bridge

Next is a complex of temple/rooms?

Buddha Pagoda

It is nice but not the main attraction

After some 1km+ walk finally the real entrance

Stone Drum Cave (Cave No 1)

Han Quan Dong (Cave No 2)

Han Quan Dong (Cave No 2)

Yungang Grottoes is one of the three major cave clusters in China

They are excellent examples of rock-cut architecture

You would not believe what is in this cave

Ling Yan Dong (Cave No 3)

The 20-meter-high cave stands a 15-meter-high Buddha statues and designs

In 2001 the Yungang Grottoes were made a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Tiny Buddha

Reminds me of Petra, Jordon

Construction continues

All together the site is composed of 252 grottoes

With more than 51,000 Buddha statues and statuettes

A little deteriorated

Cave No 5 & 6

Cave No 6

Walls of wonderfully carved Buddhist tales and processions

Contains a richly carved pagoda

And an entrance flanked by fierce guardians

It is amazing inside

The rich color

Detail carvings

Each Buddha is of different posture/expression

Cave No 6

Cave No 5

Cave No 5

Cave No 5

Aksokhya Buddha Cave (Cave No 9)

Caves 9 is notable for their front pillars and figures bearing musical insruments

Buddha inside Cave No 9

Vairocana Buddha Cave (Cave No 10)

Cave 10 - 13

Cave 10 - 13

Amitabha Buddha Cave (Cave No 11)

Look at these amazing tiny Buddha!

Amitabha Buddha Cave (Cave No 11)

Amitabha Buddha Cave (Cave No 11)

Vimala Bhumi Bodhisattva Cave (Cave No 12)

Vimala Bhumi Bodhisattva Cave (Cave No 12)

Manjusri Bodhisattva Cave (Cave No 13)

Yungang Grottes

Cave No 14

Ten Thousands buddhas Cave (Cave No 15)

These are the smallest Buddha I saw on site

Standing Buddhas Cave (Cave No 16)

Standing Buddhas Cave (Cave No 16)

Laitreya Triad Cave (Cave No 17)

Cave with Three Standing Buddhas (Cave No 18)

White Buddha Cave (Cave No 20)

Cave No 19

Cave No 19

Taiwu*s grandson Emperor Wencheng

Who restored Buddhism to the dynasty

Is represented in the 14m-high seated Buddha of cave 20.

Me @ Cave No 20

Cave No 20

Cave 21 and onwards are small, in poor condition and can*t compare to their better preserved counterparts

Me @ Cave No 20

Cave No 16 - 20

You are supposed to look at them far away

Laitreya Triad Cave (Cave No 17)

Cave No 16 - 20

Cave No 16 - 20

Cave No 16 - 20

Cave No 5 - 6

Cave No 9 - 10

Cave No 20

Yugang Grottoes

Opera House

Yugang Grottoes

Yugang Grottoes

Yugang Grottoes

Yugang Grottoes

Yugang Grottoes @ Sunset

Famous restaurant in Datong

Local Datong cuisine

CD vendor