Wutai Mountain scenic spot, Xinzhou City, Shanxi Province

Mount Wutai scenic spot is located in the northeast of Wutai County, Xinzhou City, Shanxi Province. It is now a national AAAAA scenic spot, a national key scenic spot, a national geopark, a national natural and cultural heritage, one of the top ten famous mountains in China, one of the four famous Buddhist mountains in China, and one of the five Buddhist holy places in the world.

Wutai Mountain is located at 38 ° 50 '- 39 ° 05' n and 113 ° 29 '- 113 ° 44' e, with a total area of 2837 square kilometers and a radius of 250 kilometers. With Taihuai town as the center, there are five peaks in the East, the west, the south, the north and the middle, which are higher than the cloud surface. There are no trees on the top of the mountain. For example, the terrace of earth is called Wutai. The highest point, yedoufeng, is 3058 meters above sea level, known as the "roof of North China".

Mount Wutai is Manjusri Bodhisattva's ashram, the only Buddhist ashram in China where the Green Temple and the Yellow Temple complement each other. It is also a tourist scenic spot integrating natural scenery, historical relics, ancient architecture art, Buddhist culture, folk Valley customs and summer recuperation. There are 47 monasteries, 39 in Taiwan and 8 outside Taiwan, most of which are built by imperial edicts and paid homage to emperors. Famous ones are: Xiantong temple, Tayuan temple, Bodhisattva top, Nanshan Temple, dailuoding, Guangji temple, Wanfo Pavilion, etc.

geographical environment

Location context

Wutai Mountain scenic spot is located in Wutai County, northeast of Xinzhou City, Shanxi Province, with an average altitude of more than 1000 meters. The highest point, yedoufeng, is 3058 meters above sea level, known as the "roof of North China". Wutai Mountain covers an area of about 300 kilometers. It is named Wutai because the five peaks are like five pillars of heaven, rising from the ground and standing majestically. The peak is as flat as a platform.

Geology and geomorphology

Wutai Mountain scenic area is mainly mountainous area, which is an earth rock mountainous area. The mountains are continuous, the gullies are vertical and horizontal, and the terrain is extremely complex. The mountain trend in the whole area is from northeast to southwest, and gradually decreases from northeast to southwest. Its topography can be roughly divided into: mountainous area (about 13% of the total area) and hilly area (about 10% of the total area). The highest peak is 3061 meters above sea level, and the lowest is Pingshang village, the intersection of Qingshui River and Hutuo River, with an altitude of 624 meters and a relative height difference of 2434 meters.

Climatic characteristics

Wutai Mountain has a cold climate, also known as "Qingliang mountain". Although it is in the same latitude as Beijing, its climate characteristics are similar to those of Daxinganling in Northeast China. Since the beginning of meteorological records, the annual average temperature is between - 5 ℃ and - 10 ℃. The average temperature is 13.7 ℃ in summer and 10.7 ℃ below zero in winter. The temperature difference is about 6 ℃. The extreme minimum temperature is 44.8 ℃ below zero and the maximum temperature is 30 ℃. In summer, there are low clouds, high humidity and rain in Taihuai area.

Historical evolution

According to the records of Qingliang mountain written by Zhen Cheng, an eminent monk in the Ming Dynasty, the Dafu lingjiu Temple (now Xiantong Temple) was the earliest Buddhist temple in Wutai Mountain. It was first built in 68 A.D. (the 11th year of Yongping in the Eastern Han Dynasty). It was ordered by Liu Zhuang, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, when he invited Indian eminent monks to take photos of moteng and zhufran to preach the Dharma, and became one of the "ancestors of Shiyuan". In the Northern Qi Dynasty, there were more than 200 temples in Wutai Mountain, up to 360 in the Tang Dynasty. After Huichang destroyed Buddhism, there were 72 in the Song Dynasty, 104 in the Ming Dynasty, and 112 in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China. There are 68 temples of seven dynasties since Tang Dynasty in Wutai Mountain scenic spot, including 9 national key cultural relics protection units and 6 provincial cultural relics protection units.

In November 1982, the State Council announced the first batch of Wutai Mountain scenic spots as "national key scenic spots".

In January 2001, the National Tourism Administration approved Wutai Mountain scenic spot as "the first batch of national AAAA scenic spots".

In May 2007, the National Tourism Administration approved Wutai Mountain scenic spot as "national AAAAA scenic spot".

In April 2015, the National Tourism Administration announced the special rectification action of the tourism market, and nine 5A scenic spots, including Wutai Mountain scenic spot in Xinzhou, Shanxi Province, were warned.

Main attractions

White Pagoda

The towering Nepalese style Dabai Pagoda in the Pagoda Temple of Wutai Mountain was built in the fifth year of Dade reign of the Yuan Dynasty (1301 AD). Besides the White Pagoda of Miaoying temple in Beijing, it is another masterpiece designed and built by aniko, a Nepalese craftsman. Tayuan temple is named after the pagoda. In history, the Tayuan temple and the Xiantong Temple beside it were originally a temple. This is the Tayuan of the original temple. In the seventh to tenth year of Wanli (1579-1582 AD), the temple was rebuilt to separate from Xiantong temple and become an independent temple, which was named Tayuan temple. Because there are Sakyamuni relic pagoda, Buddha's footprints and the pagoda of Manjusri Bodhisattva, the leader of Mount Wutai, the temple is regarded as a holy land by Buddhist believers. Sakyamuni Stupa, the ancient Nepalese style great white pagoda, has a beautiful shape, and it is located in Taihuai Town, the center of Wutai Mountain, surrounded by many temples, so it has become the symbol of Wutai Mountain, the first of China's four Buddhist holy places.

The neck of the Dabai pagoda is still thick, and the base and body of the pagoda are relatively long and slender. The Dabai tower is 56.4 meters high. The base of the tower is square, and the brick joints are built by mixing rice slurry and lime. All parts of the tower are thick and thin with beautiful shape. The tower is white and shaped like a algae bottle. There are copper ornaments on the tray and pearl. On the tower, the wind polished copper vase is 5 meters high, covering more than 2 meters. There are 252 copper bells hanging. The wind blows and the sound is pleasant. In the middle of the white tower, there are three pagoda halls with bronze statues of three great men.

The base is octagonal, namely: East, South, West, north, Southeast, northeast, southwest and northwest. The South (that is, the front) is close to the back wall of Daci longevity hall. There are three shallow caves on the wall. In the middle of the cave, there is a small semi relief Buddha statue. In the right cave, there is a stone tablet engraved with Sakyamuni's double footprints. In the left cave, there is a memorial tablet of the pagoda built during the reign of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty. According to Buddhist legend, before he died, Sakyamuni printed his feet on the stone and said to his disciples, "I will leave this footprints at last to show all living beings that who can see the footprints and pay tribute to them will be free from crime and disaster." When Tang Monk Xuanzang went to the western regions to collect Buddhist scriptures, he took back the Buddha's footprints. The imperial edict of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty carved the Buddha feet on the stone and erected them in the ancestral temple. In the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, the monks carved stones according to the pictures and worshipped them under the Dabai tower. As a result, it became a place that monks yearned for. Ordinary people who visit Mt. Wutai also have to join in the fun and worship. Most of them seek wealth to eliminate disasters, rather than cultivate themselves to be good.

There are four pavilions at the four corners of the tower base, which make the Dabai tower more magnificent and beautiful. Around the base of the tower, there is a long corridor to avoid wind and rain. The lower layer of the Dabai tower is a hall, commonly known as the tower hall. In the hall, there are four Bodhisattvas, Manjusri, Guanyin, Puxian and dizang, and a Buddha statue of Sakyamuni. In the corridor of the Dabai pagoda, there are 115 Dharma wheels, which are also called Scripture turning tubes, which are indispensable for praying and chanting in Lamas' temples. Each Falun has six Sanskrit characters of "Zhe, Ma, NE, Ba, MI and Hong", which is called "six character mantra" and "six character Daming mantra".

Main hall of Nanchan Temple

The earliest existing wooden structure building in China. Lijiazhuang is located 22 kilometers southwest of Wutai County in Shanxi Province. It was rebuilt in the third year of Jianzhong (782). After many repairs in song, Ming and Qing Dynasties, the restoration renovation was carried out in 1973, which restored the simple and uninhibited appearance of the Tang Dynasty.

Copper Hall of Xiantong Temple

The bronze hall is 8.3 meters high, 4.7 meters wide and 4.5 meters deep. It was made of 100000 Jin copper in 1606, the 34th year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty. The hall is square in plane, nine feet wide, eight feet deep, and more than Zhang high. It has two floors in appearance, one room inside, four corners and four columns, and the column base looks like a drum. Inside the hall, there are six doors on the upper floor and eight doors on the lower. On the four walls of the hall, there are ten thousand small Buddhas, shining with gold. The four walls of the hall are full of Buddha statues, known as ten thousand Buddhas; in the center of the hall is a bronze Buddha three feet high.

Wuliang Hall of Xiantong Temple

Wuliang Hall of Wutai Mountain Xiantong temple is divided into two floors, seven bright rooms and three dark rooms. It is 28.2 meters wide, 16 meters deep and 20.3 meters high. It is made of brick with double eaves resting on the top of the mountain. Three continuous arches are juxtaposed, and the left and right Gables become arch feet. Each room is connected by opening arches. It is a masterpiece of ancient brick and stone architecture in China. There are seven Pavilion holes on each floor of Wuliang hall, on which are inlaid with brick plaques. Some are inscribed with "Puguang Mingdian", some with "Fa Bodhi Chang", and some with "Shiduo garden".

History and Humanities

According to records, from Emperor Taizong to Emperor Dezong in the Tang Dynasty, "all the Nine Emperors worshipped Lingshan, paid attention to the holy land, and took care of the heaven's clothing. Five pieces of incense were used in each light. When they were constantly old, they could not be remembered for their special contributions." Obviously, from Tang Taizong to Tang Dezong, they all gave great support and assistance to Buddhism in Wutai Mountain.

From the perspective of Buddhist classics, in addition to the newly translated Huayan Sutra which says that Manjusri's residence is "named Qingliangshan", the Dharma Sutra also says: "the Buddha told King Kong that after I was destroyed, there was a great earthquake in the northeast of nanyubu Prefecture, in which there was a mountain named Wuding, and Manjusri boy paraded and lived, which is the saying of all people born in China."

As the residence of Manjusri Bodhisattva in Buddhist Classics - "Qingliang mountain" and "Wuding mountain" are very similar to the terrain, climate and environment of Wutai Mountain, Chinese and foreign Buddhists regard Wutai Mountain as the residence of Manjusri Bodhisattva in their illusory world. As a result, Mount Wutai is famous at home and abroad

Chinese PinYin : Shan Xi Sheng Xin Zhou Shi Wu Tai Shan Feng Jing Ming Sheng Qu