• Asia,  China

    Hanging Temple and Yungang Grottoes – Datong

    Hanging Temple When I read “hanging temple” I didn’t really expect 1500 year old wood sticks sustaining a 40 rooms temple built into a mountain cliff. Scary? Yes and yet I am standing inside it! This is the Xuan Kong Si Hanging Temple, 65km from Datong, in China. To me, architecture is yet a mystery art when mixed with other beliefs, such as religion. Over 1500 years ago, a genius monk hoping to get some peace and quiet decided that the ideal place to build a temple would be, not on the top of the mountain (it can snow), not on the valley (for the risk of floods), but in…