Golden Pavilion Floating in the Sky | A Visit to the Ancient Buildings of Jinge Temple in Wutai County

Located 15 kilometers southwest of Taihuai Town in Wutai Mountain, there is a temple on the ridge of the Golden Pavilion, called Jinge Temple. Apart from the temples on the top of the five platforms, this temple is located at the highest altitude - 2013 meters above sea level. On a clear day, standing in front of the temple and looking into the distance, the mountains are undulating, the white clouds are floating, the sea of fog is pervasive, and the vastness is boundless. According to records, Jinge Temple has a very close relationship with the spread of Chinese Esoteric Buddhism and one of the founders of Esoteric Buddhism, Master Bukong. In the fifth year of the Dali period of the Tang Dynasty (770), the Tripitaka Master Bukong from India was ordered to go to Wutai Mountain. He founded Jinge Temple based on the 'Golden Pavilion Floating in the Sky' where Manjushri Bodhisattva appeared. The architectural style of Jinge Temple is modeled after the most famous temple in India at that time, Nalanda Temple. It was supervised by the Pure Vow Master of Nalanda Temple in India and built according to the sutra. Nalanda Temple, located east of the city of King Mojie in ancient India, is now in Baragon, Bihar, India. It was the largest Buddhist temple and the highest Buddhist academy in ancient India. The whole temple has eight courtyards, with treasure platforms lined up and jade buildings towering. At its peak, there were often ten thousand monks and guests. During the construction of Jinge Temple, due to Master Bukong's deep favor from the court and the people, the whole country supported it. From the royal relatives and hundreds of officials to the common people, they all donated. Emperor Dazong of the Tang Dynasty even ordered the ten military governors of the country to help build the temple. The monks went to all parts of the country to raise donations for the construction of Jinge Temple. The project was completed in five years. Jinge Temple