Shikong Buddhist Temple

Shikong Buddha Temple is located at the southern foot of Shuanglong Mountain in Jinsha Village, Yuding Township, Zhongning County. Shuanglong Mountain was called "Shikong Mountain" in ancient times, so the grottoes were named after "Shikong". Facing the Yellow River, the Great Wall in the north, and 20 kilometers away from the county seat, the Dafo Temple is a key Buddhist temple in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region and one of the key cultural relics protection units in the autonomous region. The grottoes are carved into the gravel under the steep cliffs. There are a total of 13 caves, divided into three groups of upper, middle and lower caves, which were called "Three Temples" at that time. There is a Lingguang Cave in the upper temple, which is 4.5 meters high, 8.9 meters deep and 5.9 meters wide. The Baizi Guanyin Cave is 2.5 meters high, 1.5 meters deep and 2 meters wide. Wanfo Cave is 4 meters high, 8.2 meters deep, and 6 meters wide. There are Buddha statues and Arhats in it, and many small Buddha statues on the top. The bears are different and lifelike. The bears are compassionate and peaceful. The above three holes are all on the second floor pavilion. The first floor is the Mahavira Hall, with the three saints of Huayan, Sakyamuni Buddha in the middle, holding the Dharma, the Buddha statue is 3 meters high, the Vajra seat, Ananda, Kasyapa protector, on both sides Manjushri rides a peacock lion, Puxian rides a six-toothed giant Elephant, the palace is resplendent. Followed by Fu Lu Shou Sanxing Cave, 1.9 meters high, 1.9 meters deep, 3.2 meters wide, there are murals inside. Sanqing Cave is 4 meters high and 5.7 meters deep. It is 6 meters wide, which is the left and right side halls of the current Daxiong Palace. The Middle Temple is Jiujian Wuliang Temple Cave, which is the center of the entire grotto and has been included in the "Chinese Dictionary of Famous Scenic Spots". This hole is spacious and grand, 125 meters wide, 25 meters high, and 724 meters deep. There are five caves in the lower temple, the first one may be for monks, the second is Niangniang Cave, the third is Yaowang Cave, the fourth is Dragon King Cave, and the fifth is Sleeping Buddha Cave. The Qing Dynasty "Ningxia Fuzhi" recorded: "The stone walls of the Shikong Dafo Temple are steep, hollow like pottery caves, and the Hongkong can seat hundreds of people. Because of the stone carvings, the temples are all built on the mountain structure. Like stars hanging in the sky", in the Ming and Qing dynasties, the Shikong Temple Grottoes were already one of the ten local scenic spots, called "Shikong Night Lantern" or "Shikong Lantern". There is a poem praising the Shikong Temple: "The folded peaks are exquisite and the stone is empty, who opens the orchid like a blue cloud? The monk sits quietly at night and lights the lamp, watching a drop of red in the clear mountain." Every time around the eighth day of the fourth lunar month, tourists and believers from all over Come, worship Buddha, watch operas, do business, and tours on the mountain.