Brief information on Chong Shan Monastery  

Chongshan Monastery was built in the Tang Dynasty and once called White Horse Monastery (Baima Si), located in Huangmiao Lane, Wuyi Road, Taiyuan City. In 1381, Zhu Gang, third son of first Ming Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, had the temple rebuilt and renamed it Chongshan Monastery to honor his mother. Covering an area of 40.4 acres, Chongshan Monastery was obviously magnificent.

However, during the Qing Dynasty, the monastery was almost reduced to ashes. Today only one-fortieth of the monastery survives, including the Dabei Hall, the Temple Gate, the Bell Tower, and the east and west wing rooms.

Dabei Hall, located on the thick foundation, is the most complete and standard ever-preserved Ming wooden architecture. One drum pavilion and one bell pavilion are situated on the two sides of Dabei Hall. The Bell Tower, on the east side of the Temple Gate, is hanging a huge bell whose voice can be heard throughout the city.

The Dabei Hall, although only takes 900 square meters, stores three precious treasures. The first one is the original edition of the sutras of the Song, Jin, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, with the oldest one having a long history over 1000 years. The number and the versions of its storing Buddhism sutras are both rare across China. The second one is the two sets of “Gem Paintings”. One set is describing the story of Sakyamuni becoming a Buddha and the other is the story of Zencai boy learning Buddhism. The reason why the two paintings are called “Gem Paintings” is that although they were drawn 500 years ago, the color is still fresh today. The third treasure is three gilded mud statues of Bodhisattvas all about 8 meters (26.2 feet) high. All three statues still retain their bright colors and smooth lines.

Chongshan Monastery has become a key cultural relic of Shanxi Province and the home of the Shanxi Buddhist Association. The precious sutras are not only examples of Chinese woodblock printing history, but of ancient Chinese calligraphy and carving arts.

*You can download the bilingual note to show it to a taxi driver or someone else to find your way to Chong Shan Monastery if you plan to visit Chong Shan Monastery and have language problems.

   

Chinese Pinyin: chong shan si
Opening Times: 8:00 - 17:00
Ticket Price: CNY 2
Address: South Wuyi Road, Yinze District
How to Get to: take Bus No.4, 102, 820,812 and get down at Qiaotou Bus Stop