Shanxi Linfen's "Little Western Heaven" is a "shock" for outsiders

No matter how many places you have been to or how many pictures you have seen online, you will be amazed when you come to Little Western Heaven! The moment you walk into the Mahavira Hall, your mind will be blown away, and you will be at a loss for words to describe this hall. No wonder it is the filming location of Black Myth: Wukong. The ancient architecture and sculpture art are simply amazing! 👏 The scene that only exists in the game CG is truly shocking in front of your eyes, and the camera cannot capture even one-tenth of the shock of Little Western Heaven. 1️⃣ Little Western Heaven Also known as Qianfo Nunnery, it is located on the top of Phoenix Mountain in Xixian County, Linfen City, Shanxi Province. It was built in the second year of the Chongzhen period of the Ming Dynasty (1629) and was named after the thousand Buddha statues in the Mahavira Hall. The temple buildings are built on the mountain with exquisite layout and are known as the "suspended sculpture masterpiece." The Ming Dynasty colored suspended sculpture art in the Mahavira Hall is particularly precious, showcasing a high level of craftsmanship and the charm of Buddhist art. Little Western Heaven vividly showcases the "extreme complexity aesthetics" of the late Ming Dynasty. These colored sculptures range from over 3 meters tall to the size of a thumb, and the full hall of suspended sculptures seems to be about to emerge from the wall and descend on clouds. In this full hall of suspended sculptures and countless gods and Buddhas, another soul-stirring dialogue is connected, and another peak of extreme aesthetics is built. 2️⃣ Guangsheng Temple Guangsheng Temple is located in Hongtong County, Shanxi Province. It was built in the Eastern Han Dynasty and rebuilt in the Yuan Dynasty. It is famous for the Yuan Dynasty murals in the Water God Temple. These murals were painted in the first year of the Yuan Taiding period (1324) and depict themes of praying for rain, rainmaking, and offering sacrifices to gods, showcasing the social life and opera culture of the Yuan Dynasty. One of the opera murals was included in the Chinese History textbook, with high artistic and historical value. ✔️ Water God Temple, dedicated to the Water God, has stunning murals on the walls, with vibrant colors and well-preserved details. The murals were completed in the first year of the Yuan Taiding period (1324) and were painted by two separate teams, but the level of skill is not much different. The content includes opera, praying for rain, ancient Guangsheng Upper Temple map, Dragon King rainmaking map, dressing map, fish selling map, food offering map, treasure offering map, and ball hammering map. 🔸 The main images on the two walls are the rain praying map and the rainmaking map. The images are full of dramatic tension, and the Water God looks like Zhong Kui. 🔸 The most famous "Da Xing San Le Zhong Du Xiu Zai Ci Zuo Chang" makes people travel back in time to history class in a second, no wonder it looks so familiar. ✔️ Guangsheng Lower Temple has many highlights. The Yuan Dynasty architectural complex is divided into front and back courtyards. The front courtyard is spacious, with a mountain gate and front hall, while the back courtyard is densely built, forming a traditional courtyard structure. 🔸 The mountain gate of the Lower Temple is included in the Chinese Architectural History, with a single-eave hip roof and eaves on the front and back, resembling a double-eave pavilion. The Four Heavenly Kings are strong and powerful, with very luxurious clothing. 🔸 The front hall is a five-bay suspended mountain style, with only two columns inside, and the beam frame is supported by large beams, resembling a human-shaped truss, with exquisite design. 🔸 The back hall is one of the most important buildings in the Lower Temple, with statues of the Three Buddhas and the Bodhisattvas Manjusri and Samantabhadra, all of which are Yuan Dynasty works. The hall originally had exquisite murals (beautiful Three Buddhas and Medicine Buddha transformation map), but they were dismantled into over 100 pieces and sold to the United States in 1928. The remaining murals in the hall were originally on the upper part of the gable wall (too high, so they were left behind). The content is the Fifty-three Visits of Sudhana.