Fahua Temple

Fahua Temple in Datong City houses the Fahua Pagoda. The Fahua Pagoda was first built at the end of the Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of the Ming Dynasty. It is the only existing bowl-shaped glazed Lama pagoda in Datong City. It got its name because there is a copy of "Saddharma-puṇḍarīka Sūtra" inside the pagoda. The buildings of the entire temple are scattered in a well-arranged manner with high and low structures, and are symmetrically distributed on the left and right. The statues are vivid, plump and lifelike. The murals are rich in color and feature numerous figures.

Highlights of Shanhua Temple

Glazed Archway Gate

Glazed Archway GateGlazed Archway Gate

Before entering the temple, one will be amazed by its extreme beauty even on the roadside. The gate is a glazed archway with three bays, four columns and seven stories. The glaze is principally yellow-green, and the arch is made of white marble. The whole gate is adorned with patterns like cloud dragons, volute grass and so on. Its form is unique and the design is exquisite.

The Hall of the Heavenly Kings

There are six statues in the Hall of the Heavenly Kings. They are Maitreya Buddha, Skanda, and the four Heavenly Kings, who represent good weather in terms of wind, rain, calm, and shine. On the murals depicting auspicious clouds, lotus blossoms, peonies, and bluestones, the murals effectively set off the divine scenes of the Four Heavenly Kings. They are vivid and creative. They originally combine traditional Confucian and Taoist cultures with Buddhist cultures. They are full of the flavor of daily life while still maintaining the meaning of cultural inheritance. Thus, these artworks reveal a complementarity of both Chinese and foreign cultures.

Round-shaped Bell and Drum Towers

Round-shaped Bell and Drum Towers

Upon entering the temple, what catches the eye immediately are the round-shaped Bell and Drum Towers! Usually, bell and drum towers are commonly traditional square-shaped pavilion-style buildings. However, here they are rare round pavilion-style buildings with a pyramidal roof, which is said to incorporate elements of yurts.

Fahua Temple Pagoda

Fahua Temple Pagoda

The large white pagoda in the backyard is a bowl-shaped glazed Lama pagoda extant in Datong. The entire pagoda is built on a hexagonal pedestal. The body of the pagoda is slender and elegant, with flame-shaped gates on four sides enshrining Buddha statues. The wheel of dharma above is made of yellow, green, and purple glazed tiles, with a total of eight layers. The White Pagoda in Miaoying Temple in Beijing and the White Pagoda in Yong'an Temple in Beihai are both typical bowl-shaped Lama pagodas.

After the reconstruction of the entire Fahua Temple, it not only features the Tibetan-style Lama pagoda but also the traditional courtyard architectural style of Han-Chinese regions, as well as the round-shaped bell and drum towers in the pavilion style. This reflects the integration of diverse cultures in Datong, which was one of the nine important frontier towns in the Ming Dynasty. The murals in the Heavenly King Hall depict elements such as auspicious clouds and lotuses to set off the scenes of deities and Buddhas. The gable walls of the Mahavira Hall are also painted with murals of the Water-and-Land Dharma Assembly, integrating the three religions of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism.