Sakyamuni Hall and Maitreya Hall

Sakyamuni Hall and Maitreya Hall

Sakyamuni Hall and Maitreya Hall are cultural tourism attractions.

Sakyamuni Hall and Maitreya Hall

Sakyamuni Hall and Maitreya Hall are located atop the Golden Summit. Originally built during the Yongle era of the Ming Dynasty, they are known as the "Halls in the Sky." Sakyamuni Hall is on the left, and Maitreya Hall is on the right, separated by the Golden Knife Gorge, which is spanned by a sky bridge connecting the two. To reach the Golden Summit, visitors first come to Sakyamuni Hall, then cross the sky bridge to get to Maitreya Hall. The structures of the two halls are largely identical—each is a single-room structure built from block stones, measuring 5.4 meters in width and 5.55 meters in depth. Behind each hall lies an immovable massive rock: behind Sakyamuni Hall is the Scripture Drying Platform, and behind Maitreya Hall is the Dharma Preaching Platform. According to the Tongren Prefecture Records, the roofs were “too exposed to strong winds for tiles, so they were made of iron.” The halls originally housed Ming Dynasty cast bronze statues of Sakyamuni and Maitreya, one each. In the 29th year of the Daoguang reign (1847), the Maitreya bronze statue was stolen. In the 2nd year of the Xianfeng reign (1852), new bronze statues of Maitreya and Guanyin were cast. After the liberation, the halls collapsed, the bronze statues disappeared, the iron tiles were lost, leaving only about 2-meter-high remnants of the surrounding walls and the arched gateway of Sakyamuni Hall. In 1984, the Jiangkou County People's Government carried out renovations, recast the statues of Sakyamuni and Maitreya, placed them inside, and restored the iron-chain mountain path.

The restoration was completed and opened to tourists in 1985. In 2008, a new downhill hiking trail was added.