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Inner Mongolia Tour of
Dazhao Temple
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Dazhao Temple, 'Wuliang Si (Infinite Temple)' in
Chinese, is the oldest building and the largest temple in Hohhot,
Inner Mongolia. Locally, people usually refer to it as the Silver
Buddha Temple (Yinfo Si), for it is here that there is a rare silver
statue of Sakyamuni that measures 2.5-meter-high (8.2-foot-high).
The construction of the temple was completed in 1580
during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and it is therefore the oldest
Lamaist Buddhist temple in Inner Mongolia. There was a major
reconstruction in 1640 although much of the original architectural
style was retained.
Dazhao Temple owns its fame to a visit by the third
Tibetan Dalai Lama in 1586, when he came to dedicate the Silver
Buddha statue. As a consequence Hohhot became a religious center for
people from all over Mongolia who came to worship at the temple.
Another notable event in the temple's long history was a visit by
Emperor Kangxi during the early part of the Qing Dynasty
(1644-1911).
Mural in the templeThe temple is now a well-known
tourist attraction because of the impressive buildings, splendid
statues, delicate frescos, musical instruments and fine collection
of Buddhist scriptures. Of its abundant religious relics perhaps the
most notable are the 'Three Marvelous Treasures', a title given to
the Silver Buddha, the carved dragons on the huge golden pillars on
either side of the statue and the murals commemorating the Emperor's
visit.
Except for the main hall, the existing buildings within
the temple complex are nearly all in the Han style. The main hall is
a lamasery combining both Tibetan and Han styles of architecture. It
has three parts. The front part is a two-story hall with an empty
pavilion in the first floor; Jing Tang (the hall for chanting) and
Fo Tang (the hall for worshiping Buddha) are central and rear
sections. The perfectly preserved Silver Buddha lies in Fo Tang as
it has for some four hundred years. In the splendid and solemn front
of the hall, there is a pair of iron lions with their heads held
high.
Tour Inner Mongolia
with Great Wall Adventure Club, the best Inner Mongolia
tour agent to help
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