Hebei | Zhengding Ancient City in Shijiazhuang, Five Temples and Four Pagodas, Pray for Blessings at the Pagoda

In the previous note, it was mentioned that Zhengding Ancient City is a place with a long history and rich tourism resources. This note will take stock of the highlights of the "Eight Major Temples of Zhengding Ancient City": 1️⃣Longxing Temple 🎫50 yuan Built in the sixth year of Sui Kaihuang, it has a history of 1400+ years. This temple has many unique features: 🔸Z beautiful five-color suspended Guanyin statue (inside the Mani Hall): The entire five-color suspended mountain clay sculpture is already very spectacular, but the Guanyin sitting in it is even more unique. It is called the "Eastern Beauty" by Mr. Lu Xun because the Guanyin statue is graceful and serene, and has a more human image, which is very different from the previous image of gods. This Guanyin statue is also one of the important representatives of the transformation from "god" to "human" in the history of Buddhism. 🔸Z tall and ancient Thousand-Handed Guanyin (Dabei Pavilion): This is a "Thousand-Handed Guanyin Bodhisattva" cast in bronze in the Song Dynasty. It is known for its appropriate proportions, huge body, and fine carving. It really admires the ancient craftsmen! 🔸Z exquisite bronze Vairocana Buddha (Vairocana Hall): This three-layered, three-faced Vairocana Buddha was made by Emperor Wanli of the Ming Dynasty for his mother, the Empress Dowager Cisheng, to celebrate her birthday. It can be said to directly reflect the peak of bronze casting technology at that time, with a total of 1072 Buddha statues of various sizes on the whole statue! 🔸Z ancient prayer wheel: This prayer wheel is different from the common Tibetan style. It has a diameter of 7m and looks like an octagonal pavilion. There is a wooden shaft in the middle. Such a huge scripture bookshelf can be pushed by a child. 🔸Z large wooden Buddha statue: This huge Buddha statue is carved from a whole piece of wood, you can imagine how thick the tree must be! 🔸Z early regular script stele of Sui "Longzang Temple Stele": The full name is "Hengzhou Governor Eguogong's Stele for the Construction of Longzang Temple", the Sui Dynasty was a transitional period from Han Li to Tang Kai, and the Longzang Temple Stele is a representative work of this period~ 2️⃣Tianning Temple 🎫15 yuan Formerly known as "Dazangyuan", the Lingxiao Tower in the temple was also built during the reign of Tang Yizong Weitong, and is one of the four ancient towers in Zhengding. It is the tallest of the four towers. The tower body is mainly wooden structure, which is an octagonal nine-story pavilion-style tower. The structure below the third floor is brick. 3️⃣Kaiyuan Temple 🎫20 yuan Originally named "Jingguan Temple", it was built in the second year of Xinghe in the Eastern Wei Dynasty. The Sumeru Pagoda in the temple was built in the tenth year of Tang Zhen Guan, also known as "Yan Pagoda", because its shape is very similar to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda in Xi'an, it is a nine-story dense eave square pagoda, and there are two strong and powerful arhat statues on each side of the bottom layer. The three-door building (the original temple gate), bell tower, and the ruins of the Fa Chuan Hall in the temple are also worth seeing. There is also a huge Bi Xi stele base and a broken stele (the Five Dynasties An Zhongrong Dezheng Stele) placed in the temple, which is really huge! 4️⃣Guanghui Temple 🎫15 yuan Also known as "Hua Pagoda Temple", it was built during the Tang Zhenyuan period. At its peak, it was 196m wide from east to west and 239m long from north to south. Today, the only remaining Hua Pagoda in the temple is an important relic after the reconstruction in the Golden Dading period. After repairs in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, this uniquely shaped and beautifully decorated ancient pagoda has been preserved~ 5️⃣Linji Temple 🎫Free Also known as "Linji Pagoda Court", it was built in the second year of Xinghe in the Eastern Wei Dynasty. The founder of the Chinese Buddhist Linji Sect, Master Yixuan, lived in this temple, so this temple is the birthplace of this sect and the ancestral court of the Japanese Buddhist Linji Sect. The Chengling Pagoda in the temple is the stupa of Master Yixuan. It is a brick-imitated wooden structure, a dense eave-style octagonal nine-story pagoda. The railing on the Xumi seat and the flat seat are carved with strange flowers and birds. The carving is exquisite and unique! 🙏🏻Principle of Praying for Blessings at the Pagoda: Walk around the pagoda clockwise One week for family happiness Two weeks for both blessings and longevity Three weeks for national peace and people's safety Four weeks for wealth in all seasons Five weeks for the world to be public Six weeks for everything to go smoothly Seven weeks for world unity 🎫Seven Scenic Spots Joint Ticket: The joint ticket includes Longxing Temple, Tianning Temple, Kaiyuan Temple, Guanghui Temple, Prefecture Confucius Temple, County Confucius Temple and Wang Shizhen's Former Residence The original price is 140 yuan, and the discount joint ticket price is 100 yuan