Guangling Chaoyang Ancient Temple

Guangling·Datong Guangling Chaoyang Temple is located on a branch of Mount Heng, 8 kilometers north of Guangling County, very close to the ancient fortress of Jianxi. It is an ancient temple still under renovation. However, looking from the roadside, the outline of its full appearance has already emerged, and it is quite large in scale. Chaoyang Ancient Temple was originally named Guanyin Temple. It is said that the temple was built during the Northern Wei Dynasty, rebuilt in the fourteenth year of the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, and also rebuilt in the winter of the Guichou year of Emperor Yongzheng and the sixtieth year of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty. During the Qianlong period, it was renamed Chaoyang Temple. Chaoyang Temple faces west and is built against the mountain. Its architecture has four levels. The first level is the Hall of Heavenly Kings, with the Bell Tower and Drum Tower on the north and south sides respectively; the second level is the Hall of Patriarch Bodhidharma, with the Hall of Ksitigarbha and the Temple of the Goddess on both sides; the third level is the Hall of Ancient Buddha, which is the main hall, with the Hall of Guanyin and the Hall of Ksitigarbha on both sides; the fourth level is the Dharma Hall, with the Study Hall and the Chanting Hall on both sides, with more than a hundred rooms in total. On the platform of the fourth level, you can see many small courtyards, which are extremely quiet and are mostly monk quarters. The architectural style is similar to cave dwellings, very similar to the residential buildings in Yanbei. Chaoyang Temple has undergone many changes and was once in a state of disrepair. The current renovation of Chaoyang Ancient Temple shows that the project is huge. A large amount of timber is piled up inside the mountain gate at the foot of the mountain. These timbers are huge in size and are made of real materials, which can roughly estimate the high cost. The current mountain gate, Mahavira Hall, Guanyin Hall, Guest Hall, Dining Hall, Bell and Drum Towers, and the east and west side rooms have been completed, and it is estimated that it will be completed in one or two years.