Liao Dynasty Dongshan Grotto Temple

Liao Dynasty Dongshan Grotto Temple

The Liao Dynasty Dongshan Grotto Temple is a cultural tourism attraction.

Liao Dynasty Dongshan Grotto Temple: The Dongshan Temple is located in the northwest of Niuyingzi Town, Harqin Banner, Inner Mongolia

five kilometers

, on the Chicheng Highway

at the 24-kilometer

mark on the mountainside of Zhagai Mountain. The Dongshan Temple is also known as Lingfeng Temple or Zhagai Mountain Grottoes, as it features cave-style monasteries carved into the mountainside of Zhagai Mountain. During the Jin Dynasty, it was also called “Lingfengyuan Buddha Cave.” According to the inscriptions, this temple was built in the second year of the Qianyou era of the Liao Dynasty (1102), and underwent multiple renovations in the third year of the Qianyou era of the Liao Dynasty (1103), the third year of the Huangtong era of the Jin Dynasty (1143), the Ming Dynasty's Wanli era, the Qing Dynasty's Daoguang era, and the Qing Dynasty's Guangxu era.

The Dongshan Temple was built

60 meters

above the mountain peak on a rocky cliff, “backed by the mountain and facing a stream, forming a sacred site.” It was carved into the mountain and through the rock by Monk Tiantai of the Xishan Monastery, creating a front hall and a surrounding series of caves, forming an ancient grotto temple composed of seven stone caves: the Monk’s Cave, the Laborer’s Cave, the Goddess Cave, the Millstone Cave, the Main Cave, the Surrounding Cave, and the Lord Cave. The caves vary in size and shape, among which the Main Cave and the Surrounding Cave are the primary ones.

The entrances to the Main Cave and the Surrounding Cave are built with stone lintels in the form of round arches. The top of the Main Cave entrance is inlaid with three stone characters reading “Lingfeng Temple.” The Main Cave is convex in shape and consists of left and right side chambers, as well as front and rear chambers. The cave is

144 meters

long. The side chambers are

2.5 meters

wide and

3.9 meters

high. The front chamber is

3.7 meters

high, the rear chamber is

5.7 meters

long,

7 meters

wide, and

5 meters

high. In the center of the rear chamber is a stone-carved statue of Sakyamuni Buddha, seated cross-legged on a lotus pedestal. The lotus waist is divided into eight sides, each engraved with a trigram. The base is carved with upward-facing lotus petals and large floral designs. The lotus pedestal is

1.5 meters

high, and the Buddha statue itself is

2.05 meters

On both sides are statues of the two disciples, about

2 meters

tall.

The surrounding corridor encloses the main cave on the right, left, and rear sides. The corridor is about

2.7 meters

wide,

2.5 meters

high, and

20 meters

long. Its walls are carved with 1,080 diamond-shaped niches, each housing a Buddha statue. Each Buddha was meticulously carved directly from the original rock. Given the brittle nature of the stone, the ability to carve such figures is nothing short of miraculous craftsmanship. All the Buddha statues in the niches were damaged during the Cultural Revolution but have since been replaced with bronze statues.

Existing steles record renovations carried out during the Ming Dynasty's Wanli era, the Qing Dynasty's Daoguang era, and the Qing Dynasty's Guangxu era. During these renovations, “residents from near and far joyfully contributed materials and labor, bringing the Thousand Buddha stone statues back to their former glory, giving the site quite the grandeur of a stone kingdom.” It has since become one of the region’s most renowned temples.