Binzhou Travel Recommendations for 2024 (Updated in May)

Binzhou Kaiyuan Temple Pagoda in Shaanxi

The Binzhou Kaiyuan Temple Pagoda, also known as the 'Bin Pagoda' or 'Bin County Pagoda', is commonly referred to as the 'Leifeng Pagoda'. It is located in the city of Binzhou, Xianyang City, Shaanxi Province. The pagoda was established in the fifth year of Huangyou of the Northern Song Dynasty (1053), and is an octagonal seven-story pavilion-style brick pagoda. Each side of the base is 5.6 meters long, with a total height of 47.84 meters, and a single wall is hollow. The Binzhou Kaiyuan Temple Pagoda has two arched doors on the south and north of the base, and four arched doors are set on each floor above the second floor. The positions of the upper and lower floors are staggered layer by layer, each floor is made of imitation wood structure with three rooms, each floor has eaves, the top of the pagoda is a brick-built spire, and a iron pagoda is placed on top. The overall appearance of the pagoda is tall and beautiful, showing the superb architectural art of the Tang and Song Dynasties. On June 25, 2001, the Bin County Kaiyuan Temple Pagoda was announced by the State Council of the People's Republic of China as the fifth batch of national key cultural relics protection units.

Binxian Huaguoshan Grottoes in Shaanxi

During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, Buddhism was introduced to China along the Silk Road, leaving a group of Buddhist grottoes here, known as 'Nine Bends and Eighteen Caves'. Tang Xuanzang passed by here on his journey to the west, and later generations attached the 'Journey to the West' story, calling this place the hometown of Sun Wukong, and sculpting characters from the Journey to the West, spreading the story of the Journey to the West. To celebrate peace and pray for a good year, in the first year of Longqing in the Ming Dynasty, another lamp mountain grotto was carved on Huaguoshan; every year on the Yuanxiao Festival, local people would light thousands of open-air grotto lamps, lasting for three days, in order to pray for favorable weather and a good harvest. The Lamp Mountain Grottoes have more than 3,000 large stone nests, each of which can hold a bowl of clear oil. When lit at night, they look like a string of pearls, resembling flying pavilions, forming patterns such as temples, Leifeng Tower, Big Dipper, sedan top, and archway.

The Binzhou Dafo Temple Grottoes in Shaanxi

The Dafo Temple Grottoes began to be carved in the Northern Dynasty, and were extensively excavated in the early Tang Dynasty. They were basically completed in the second year of Zhenguan (628). They were built by Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, to commemorate the soldiers who died in the battles of Qianshuiyuan and Wulongban in Binzhou. The temple was named Yingfu Temple. It was renamed Qingshou Temple in the Northern Song Dynasty. Since the Ming Dynasty, it has been commonly known as Dafo Temple, named after the tall and exquisite statue of Amitabha. The Dafo Temple is built on a mountain with carved stone statues. There are more than 130 grottoes, which are distributed in a three-dimensional cliff face about 400 meters long. There are 446 Buddha niches and more than 1980 statues, divided into four parts: Dafo Cave, Thousand Buddha Cave, Arhat Cave, and Zhaba Buddha Cave. It was once praised by the Qing Dynasty scholar Bi Yuan as the "first wonder of Guanzhong". "Dafo Cave" is the center of the temple and the largest cave of the temple. The cave is semi-circular in plan, with a diameter of about 34 meters and a height of 31 meters. Inside the cave, there are three statues of one Buddha and two Bodhisattvas made of stone and clay. Amitabha (commonly known as Dafo) leans against the cliff in the middle, 20 meters high, 13 meters wide at the shoulders, 4.5 meters high at the hands, and 2 meters long at the fingers. He has a gemstone blue bun on his head, beautiful eyebrows and kind eyes, and sits on a lotus platform. Behind the head of the Buddha, there are two round carved lace and seven relief sitting Buddhas, with 19 flying apsaras scattered nearby, forming a rich and auspicious backlight. The Avalokitesvara and Mahasthamaprapta standing on both sides are both 15.6 meters tall, wearing crowns and gorgeous tassels, and their expressions are calm. In addition, there are more than 400 small statues of different shapes in the Buddha niches in the cave. The cave is large in scale, with majestic statues and exquisite carvings. It is a treasure trove of ancient modeling. "Dafo Cave" preserves the magnificent backlight carving of the Buddha of that year. There are seven Buddhas sitting in a circle on it, and twenty-two exquisite flying apsaras are guarding the Maitreya Buddha's pagoda, presenting a joyful scene of the Western Paradise. It is known as the largest Buddha in Shaanxi and the Silk Road. The Thousand Buddha Cave is located on the east side of the Dafo Cave. It is a central pillar room structure, composed of three adjacent small caves, with the two sides deeper and the middle slightly smaller. There are more than 300 statues in the cave, most of which are reliefs, except for a few that are three-dimensional. In each niche on the four walls, there are mostly one Buddha and two Bodhisattvas or one Buddha, two disciples and two Bodhisattva statues, with the main statue being Maitreya Buddha. The Bodhisattva statues in each niche present a beautiful large "S" shape, with various postures, most of them bare-chested and bare-bellied, elegant and dynamic, like singing and dancing, reflecting the free and open social fashion of the Tang Dynasty. The Arhat Cave is located on the west side of the Dafo Cave. It is composed of four small stone caves in a row, with more than 100 statues of different sizes and heights. The main statue in the cave is Sakyamuni Buddha, and the rest are his disciples, Bodhisattvas, strong men, vajras, etc. One of the attendants of Sakyamuni Buddha is Manjusri Bodhisattva. He sits steadily in the middle of the double round lotus petals on the back of a lion, with a very powerful momentum. The lion's shape is extremely charming, with a bell around its neck and its tail swinging, giving a sense of galloping. The Zhaba Buddha Cave, also known as "Yingfu Temple", is located 200 meters west of the Dafo Cave. Nine small stone caves excavated along the mountain are scattered on the cliff face. The main statue is the Zhaba Buddha, which is 7.5 meters high. The two emperors standing Bodhisattvas are both 5.8 meters high. There are 108 statues of various kinds, with a simple and solemn style, most of which are severely damaged. In front of the Dafo Cave, there is a five-story protective building with a brick and wood structure. The original building was built in the Tang Dynasty. The existing building was rebuilt during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty and was built during the Qing Dynasty. The building is 32 meters high. The first and second floors are paved with strip bricks "one smooth and one ding". The base is square, and the top is a hexagonal spire. The word "Juelu" is carved on the lintel of the first floor. The second floor is piled up with three arch-shaped door holes. The word "Mingjing Tai" is carved on the middle door hole. The three door holes are connected to the Dafo Cave. The light in the Dafo Cave is bright, which is convenient for the worshippers to look at all the statues, so that all the statues in the Dafo Cave are presented to the worshippers in the best light and the best angle. From the third floor up, all are wooden buildings. The width and height of each floor gradually decrease from bottom to top, and the overall outline is square tower-shaped. Each floor has doors and windows, railings are made, and you can climb up to look far away. It is a national key cultural relics protection unit.

Next to the main thoroughfare between Xi'an and Lanzhou, there is a large Buddhist cave group in Shaanxi Province, Bin County Big Buddha Temple. . The temple is an important historical and cultural site on the ancient Silk Road, witnessing the historical process of Buddhism being introduced into Chang'an from the Western Region. The main building of the Great Buddha Temple is built on the back of the mountain. The structure is patchwork and effectively protects the internal Buddha statue. The Dafo Temple Grottoes were originally excavated in the early Tang Dynasty. After repeated expansion to reach today's scale, it is one of the third batch of key cultural relics protection units in the country. In order to protect this monument carrying thousands of years of history, the 312 National Road was in front of the Great Buddha Temple. Diverted to avoid adverse effects on the cultural relics. The central five-story building is a typical Ming and Qing style building. The overall beauty is beautiful and exquisite, which blocks the Buddha statues on the mountain walls and delays the erosion of the Buddha statues by the sun and the wind. The largest Buddha statue in the temple is the Amitabha Buddha in the middle of the temple. It was excavated in the early Tang Dynasty. It is a natural art and vivid, and is an excellent masterpiece of art. In addition to the Amitabha Buddha in the Buddha Cave, there is also a statue of Buddha. Bodhisattva is natural and beautiful, and its facial expressions are vivid. It not only shows the artistic attainments of the Tang Dynasty sculpture craftsmen, but also allows people to see the Tang Dynasty's luxurious costume culture. Amitabha's right hand side is a great image to the Bodhisattva. The upper part of the statue is well preserved, but the foot is seriously damaged due to prolonged weathering. The local cultural relics department has taken effective measures to further protect and repair it. In addition to several huge Buddha statues and bodhisattvas, there are countless small and medium-sized Buddha statues and Buddhist altars in the Big Buddha Temple. The Big Buddha Temple in Binxian, seen from the sky, is surrounded by lush trees.