Longxing Monastery

The Longxing Monastery is an ancient monastery located near the town of Zhengding in Hebei , China, approximately 15 kilometers north of the provincial capital of Shijiazhuang. It has been referred to as the ''"First Temple south of Beijing"''.

History

The monastery was first built in , during the Sui Dynasty. Some of the oldest stelas still standing on the monastery grounds date back to this period. Much of it was reconstructed during the Song Dynasty .

Following a common pattern, the monastery complex features a central axis along which a sequence of buildings and focal points is arranged. The first building is the ''Hall of the ''. At the opposite end of the axis is the Main Hall , a 33-meter-high wooden structure, which houses a bronze statue of . This bronze was built during the early years of the Song Dynasty; its height exceeds 20 meters. Inside the hall, a staircase leads around the statue which allows it to be seen from top to bottom.


Other notable artworks of the monastery are a colorful wooden carving of Guanyin sitting in a grotto and statues of sitting on a throne.

A unique piece of wood architecture from the Song Dynasty in the Longxing Monastery is the ''Pavilion of the Rotating Library'', which was restored in the 20th century. The pavilion houses a rotating bookshelf which was formerly used to store holy texts and Buddhist sutras. This rotating book case repository dates back to the 12th century, and is the oldest existent rotating repository of its kind .

Today, the Longxing Monastery is open to the public as a .