The sacred land of Buddha, with sculptures hanging all over the hall—Xiaoxitian

Xiaoxitian, also known as Qianfo An (Thousand Buddha Nunnery), is located at the summit of Phoenix Mountain to the west of Xixian County in Linfen City, Shanxi Province. It is a Buddhist Zen monastery founded by the Ming Dynasty monk Dongming in the second year of the Chongzhen era. It was originally named for the thousand Buddha statues in the Mahavira Hall, and later renamed 'Xiaoxitian' (Little Western Heaven) to differentiate it from another Ming Dynasty monastery to the south of the city, 'Daxitian' (Great Western Heaven), due to the inscription 'The Way to Western Heaven' above its heavy gates. The total building area of Xiaoxitian in Xixian County is over 1100 square meters, with many halls such as the Mahavira Hall, Manjusri Hall, Samantabhadra Hall, Beamless Hall, Heavenly King Hall, Wei Tuo Hall, Ksitigarbha Hall, Bell Tower, Drum Tower, etc. Caves serve as doors, dividing the upper, middle, and front courtyards. In fact, two-thirds of the temple's halls are double-layered structures. The essence of the temple lies in the Mahavira Hall, where, in addition to the five main Buddhas, the walls, beams, columns, and eaves are also filled with Buddha statues. It is said that there are more than 1900 Buddha statues in the hall. Each Buddha statue has a different story, surrounded by layers of pavilions, twelve musical courtesans, moon-chasing divine birds, peacocks, parrots, dragons, phoenixes, and auspicious clouds. The sculptures are lifelike and radiantly colorful, more magnificent and spectacular than one can imagine the Buddhist realm to be, resembling a celestial palace. Ticket price 🎫 25, very affordable The temple is not very large, but it is filled with numerous Buddha statues, inspiring awe and grandeur. Before Xiaoxitian, there was no hall filled with hanging sculptures; after Xiaoxitian, there will be no other with such a hall. Friends, take a closer look and you will understand