Xi'an Lantian Shuilu Temple｜This is actually free to see!

Finally I went to the famous Lantian Shuilu Temple, which is less than an hour's drive from downtown Xi'an. I highly recommend it. · So far I have seen 👇 four famous hanging sculptures: 👉 Lantian Shuilu Temple, Xi'an, Shaanxi 👉 Xiaoxitian in Xi County, Linfen, Shanxi 👉 Pingyao Shuanglin Temple, Jinzhong, Shanxi 👉 Changzhi Guanyin Temple, Changzhi, Shanxi · Among these four hanging sculptures, I personally think that the best one in terms of overall sculpture is Shuilu Temple; the most breathtaking one in terms of scene is Xiaoxitian Temple; and the most amazing ones in Shuanglin Temple are Wei Tuo, the Four Vajras and the hall of arhats. So if you go to Xi'an, I highly recommend you to visit Shuilu Temple. · 🌈 Lantian Shuilu Temple, Ming Dynasty 📝 The fourth batch of national key cultural relics protection units 📍 Lantian County, Xi'an, Shaanxi · Shuilu Temple was originally part of the Wuzhen Temple of the Sui Dynasty. The Guanzhong earthquake in December of the 34th year of the Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty (1556) caused Mount Zhongnan to move several miles south, and the lower temple of Wuzhen Temple at the foot of the mountain suffered devastating damage. · In the 42nd year of the Jiajing reign (1563), Zhu Yuanzhang's ninth-generation grandson, Zhu Huaishen, the King Xuan of Qin, invited craftsmen from Shanxi, such as Qiao Zhongjie, to rebuild the Shuilu Temple as a Buddhist temple for his mother to worship Buddha. This is how the hanging sculpture we see today came into being. · There are twelve colored sculptures on each of the north and south gables in the Shuilu Temple. Some people believe that they are the Twenty-Four Deities, some say they are two groups of the Twelve Generals of Medicine Buddha, and some say they are two groups of the Ten Great Vidyarajas plus folk gods. But no matter who they are, in these twenty-four colored sculptures we can see the shadows of the Twenty-Four Deities of the Iron Buddha Temple in Gaoping, Shanxi that we posted before. Considering that the statues in this hall of Shuilu Temple were also made by Shanxi craftsmen in the Ming Dynasty, they can be said to be of the same origin. · Reference: "Social Life in the Ming Dynasty as Seen from Shuilu Temple in Lantian, Shaanxi", Yang Binghua · Lantian Shuilu Temple Wall Sculpture Museum