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Hanging Monastery (Huyên Không Tự) is a famous Buddhist structure located at the foot of Mount Heng in Shanxi Province, China. Situated on a precarious cliff, about 75 meters above the ground, the temple is built on flimsy wooden stilts and nestled against the mountain's recesses.
The temple is over 1,400 years old and was rebuilt and renovated during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).
The temple has a total area of over 150 square meters and contains 40 shrines arranged in a balanced manner to ensure the safety of the entire structure.
Despite its precarious structure, the Hanging Monastery (Huyền Không Tự) houses over 80 heavy bronze and cast iron statues from various dynasties. Over thousands of years, the monastery has remained strong enough to support these structures.
Every year, Hanging Monastery welcomes thousands of tourists from all over China and beyond. Visitors come not only to pray for peace, but also to admire this unique structure and witness firsthand the ingenuity of ancient peoples.
Connecting the shrines is a corridor built along the hillside, supported only by simple wooden posts and floors.
According to Chinese historians, the reason the ancients built this temple perched precariously was to protect it from the fierce floods that frequently swept through Shanxi province; it also provided shelter from snow and intense heat.
The picturesque landscape of Xuan Kong Temple has become a subject of Chinese poetry.
