Huangshi Stone Cliff Temple

Huangshi Stone Cliff Temple

Huangshi Stone Cliff Temple is a cultural tourism attraction.

Huangshi Stone Cliff Temple

Location

Damingsi Lane, Shipi Temple Road, Yangxin County, Huangshi City, Hubei Province

Temple Introduction

Yangxin Stone Cliff Temple, originally named Stone Cliff Nunnery, was first built during the Jin Dynasty, with a history of over 1,700 years. The temple is commonly known as Monk’s Pagoda. Legend has it that in the early Ming Dynasty, a monk named Shi Qingning preached Buddhism here and was widely revered. After the monk Qingning passed away, his body remained uncorrupted, lifelike, and occasionally emitted fragrance, astonishing everyone. A pagoda was built in his memory. In 1938, the temple was destroyed in war, leaving only the pagoda, which is why the site is now called Monk’s Pagoda. In 1992, after restoration and expansion, the temple covered an area of 50 acres, becoming the largest Buddhist activity center in Yangxin County and also the site of the county’s Buddhist Association. In 1993, the county government listed the temple as a key open temple and a county-level cultural relics protection unit.

Temple Layout

Stone Cliff Temple is located at the mouth of Longhu Mountain in the northwest of the county town. To the left is the Azure Dragon Ridge, where layered rocks rise like a coiled dragon lying beside a lake; to the right is the White Tiger Mound, which looks fierce, as if a tiger’s roar is about to burst forth. The temple complex includes three main halls — the Heavenly King Hall, the Mahavira Hall, and the Guanyin Pavilion — as well as the Lay Buddhists’ Forest, the Guest Hall, the Dining Hall, and the Scripture Distribution Center. With its classic red walls, green glazed tiles, and painted beams and carved rafters, the architecture has an antique charm. Surrounded by mountains on three sides and shaded by green trees, the halls face a lake with vast, misty waters.

The Guanyin Pavilion is the rear hall of the temple. The couplet on its door reads: “Sweet dew sprinkles the heavens, revealing a pure form to preach the Dharma of equality; the compassionate boat ferries beings to the other shore with boundless power and great spiritual skill.” In the center of the hall stands a more than five-meter-tall golden statue of the Thousand-Armed and Thousand-Eyed Guanyin, seated atop a lotus throne. With kind eyes and a serene expression, the deity appears completely at ease. The thousand arms are uniquely shaped, exquisitely carved, and incredibly lifelike.

Although not large, the Dining Hall to the left of the Guanyin Pavilion has behind it a famous spring known as the “Spiritual Water,” which is warm in winter and cool in summer, never drying up in a thousand years, and flowing all year round. Legend says that drinking water fetched with a clean vessel after paying respects can cure all ailments. According to tests by the Huangshi City Survey Bureau, the water contains more than ten kinds of essential mineral trace elements needed by the human body, and drinking it can nourish both body and mind, cure diseases, and strengthen health.

The central hall is the Mahavira Hall. The plaque with gold lettering was inscribed by Jia Yibin, Vice Chairman of the Central Committee of the Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang. In the center of the hall sits the golden statue of Sakyamuni Buddha. On either side are the Eighteen Arhats, each with distinct expressions.

The front hall is the Heavenly King Hall. Upon entering, you see a statue of the Maitreya Buddha sitting cross-legged on the dais, bare-chested and bare-bellied, with a smiling face full of kindness; his round belly is as plump as a drum. The couplet on the sides reads: “A big belly can tolerate how many worldly affairs; a heart full of joy laughs away all sorrows of past and present.” The niches on both sides house the Four Heavenly Kings, each holding a wind pearl, a precious lute, an umbrella, and a pagoda, symbolizing favorable weather and prosperity for the people. In front of the Heavenly King Hall, a Liberation Pond, as well as a Bell Tower, Drum Tower, and a 50-acre Lotus Park, are currently under construction.