The Great Stone Buddha of the Northern Wei Dynasty

Xinghua Zen Temple: The temple houses a large Amitabha stone Buddha, which was first carved during the Northern Wei Dynasty (450). The stone Buddha is an open-air Buddha head, carved against the mountain rock, standing three zhang and six (approximately 11.9 meters) tall. During the reign of Emperor Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty, the chest and arms were further carved. The hall for the Buddha head was initially built during the Ming Dynasty. Following the natural slope of the cliff, only three layers of bricks were piled up under the eaves of the rear wall of the hall, hence the saying that a 'Three-Brick Hall covers a Three-Zhang Buddha'. The temple currently has Ming Dynasty structures such as the Bell and Drum Tower, a three-ton iron bell, the Ancestral Hall, and the Sutra Repository. The other halls in the existing six courtyards were mostly built during the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty or later.