Mount Hengshan & Hanging Monastry

About 80 kilometers from Datong and 5 kilometers from Hunyuan County, the gravity defying Hanging Monastery is built on extremely sheer cliffs of Mount Hengshan above Jinlong Canyon.

Mount Hengshan, one of the most famous "Five Sacred Mountains (Wu Yue)" in China, is located about 62 kilometers south to Datong City of Shanxi Province. It attracts people by its natural sceneries and man-made landscaping.

Construction of the monastery dates back 1400 years to the Northern Wei Dynasty. Most of the architecture was reconstructed during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Bridges and corridors connect those pavilions and caves in which dozens of bronze, iron, stone and clay statues are enshrined. In San Jiao Dian (Three Religions Hall), Buddha, Confucius and Laotsu are enshrined together, which is a surprise.