Datong

As difficult as China is, there are moments of magic. Things that you see in China cannot be seen anywhere else in the world (like the Budda above from Yungang Caves). Sometimes these are good things, sometimes bad. The Hanging Monastery and Yungang Caves fall in the "good" category. The four of us got booked on a CITS tour to these sights. This tour was by far the best one we took in China. The group was entertaining and the tour guide was incredibly knowledgable.

The Hanging Monastery is suspended about 50m above the Jinlong Canyon. When first built, it was 100m up but silt from the river below has filled the canyon over time. Construction began on the Taoist Monastery in the fifth century. In the eighth century (I believe -- sorry, no notes), it became a monastery for the three religions: Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism. The last monk left at the start of the Cultural Revolution.

The Monastery dangles from the side of the cliff, attached by wooden logs that have 2/3 of their length buried within the cliff face. The views were astounding but the footing seemed less than secure. To live there must have provided a daily reminder of one's mortality.

Excavation of the Yungang Caves began at about the same time. Yungang caves contain over 50,000 statues of buddhas and bodhisattvas. The caves were dug into the side of Wuzhou's cliffs, near the pass to inner Mongolia, over a millenia. The largest caves were built at the behest of emperors, whose visages now grace the large Buddhas inside. Smaller caves were constructed by locals after the seat of the empire moved south.

Erosion has affected many of the statues. Many others were stolen by looters in the early twentieth century. It is shocking to come across statue after statue that is missing its head. Though it is easy to decry such activities, the statues that remain have not necessarily been treated with respect. The vagaries of the Cultural Revolution did not touch Yungang, unlike the Hanging Monastery (see image below), but vandalism from both the Chinese and Western treasure seekers is evident (bottom image).