The unique "Zhao Temple culture" of Dazhao Temple.

The unique "Zhao Temple Culture" of Dazhao Temple Dazhao Temple means "big temple" in Tibetan. It is a Tibetan Buddhist temple located in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia. It belongs to the Gelugpa (Yellow Sect). Its original Chinese name was "Hongci Temple". It was built in the seventh year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty (1579 AD) and was presided over by Altan Khan, the leader of the Tumed tribe of Mongolia. Because Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty lived here for several days, there is no living Buddha and it is respectfully called the Imperial Temple. In 1640, Huang Taiji bestowed the name "Wuliang Temple" in three languages: Manchu, Mongolian and Chinese. •The buildings of Dazhao Temple are divided into three sections: central, eastern and western. There is a Heavenly King Hall in each section. It is rare to have three Heavenly King Halls in the whole temple. The central gate is the "Wuliang Temple", the western Heavenly King Hall is the "Nine Frontiers First Spring", and the eight small towers in front of the western gate commemorate the eight great merits of Sakyamuni. •The Silver Buddha Hall has three unique features: First, the silver-cast Sakyamuni Buddha statue, which was cast by Nepalese craftsmen using 30,000 taels of pure silver. It is 3 meters high and is more than 400 years old. It is one of the largest silver Buddha statues in China. Second, the dragon carving. The two vivid golden dragons in front of the silver Buddha seat are about 10 meters high and are carved on two pillars. Looking from below, two dragons are flying and circling on the cloth. The dragon carvings are both lifelike and majestic. The raw materials are clay and slurry stone, and the craftsmanship is very sophisticated. Third, the murals are mainly Buddhist figures and stories, depicting various scenes in heaven, earth and hell. Among them, the most exquisite and fascinating ones are the debates and battles between the Buddha and the six teachers of the outsiders. The pictures are both coherent as a whole and independent. The whole picture depicts more than 770 gods, Buddhas, mortals and other figures. The murals of Dazhao are painted with natural stone colors. Although they have gone through hundreds of years, they are still colorful. •On the square white marble pedestal in front of the hall, there is a pair of hollow iron lions cast in the seventh year of the Tianqi reign of the Ming Dynasty (1627 AD). They look up with their heads held high and have a unique image. The iron incense burner of the Qing Dynasty in the courtyard is engraved with the name of the Mongolian craftsman. •The Jade Buddha Sakyamuni enshrined in the Jade Buddha Hall is carved from a whole piece of Burmese jade and weighs more than 20 tons. The Jade Buddha's robes are inlaid with more than 41,000 rubies and 7,000 diamonds, a total of 48,000 gems, representing that the Buddha was born on the eighth day of the fourth lunar month. •The Bodhisattva Hall enshrines the Thousand-armed Thousand-eyed Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva. Surrounding the Bodhisattva are 21 niches enshrining 21 seated statues of Tara (the incarnation of the Bodhisattva) and dozens of prayer wheels. The standing statue of the Thousand-armed Thousand-eyed Avalokitesvara is about nine meters high and is carved from Qinghai's Pinus tabulaeformis. •The Dazhao Temple has a rich collection of cultural relics. The "three wonders" of silver Buddha, dragon carvings and murals are historical relics of the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Xuande furnace, the dragon and phoenix peacock umbrella of the Qing Emperor Kangxi, the eight pearl and eight-treasure palace lanterns of the Kangxi Palace, the "Long Live the Dragon Tablet" of Kangxi, the gilded God of Wealth bestowed by Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty, thangkas of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and various ritual instruments and masks used in religious activities are all extremely precious historical relics and art treasures.