People often ask, why China? Traveling there isn't easy. Sometimes, people aren't so nice. Crazy toilets. But China has so much to offer. Its beauty is in its history, culture and magnificent structures like this. I stood in awe before the Hanging Monastery (悬空寺), also known the the 'suspended temple'. I had seen it on documentaries and photographs before but to stand before it- I was in absolute awe. How did those monks manage to build this temple on a cliff 75m above ground without the extensive knowledge on engineering, architecture and science that we have today? Wait, in fact, legend has it that the temple was built by ONE (not many) monk named Liao Ran during the late Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534 AD) and restored in 1900. Even more curious is the fact that the monk thought about the functionality of the location- clinging in the middle of the cliff of Mount Heng (恒山), the monk intended for the temple to be shielded from natural elements: snow, sun, rain and wind, which is why the monument remains relatively in tact. What a wonder! (Located 60km away from the city of Datong (大同), in Mount Heng (恒山) in Northern Shanxi (山西).) #misscassandraleetravelling #travel #wanderlust #fernweh #china #datong #shanxi #mountheng #hangingmonastery #大同 #山西 #恒山 #悬空寺 (at Hanging Monastery)
