Lingying Temple

The Northern Peak of Mount Wutai, also called Ye Dou Peak, is the highest point, at 3,085 meters above sea level, and the highest point in northern China, so it has long been known as "The roof of North China".

The Lingying Temple, built in the Sui Dynasty (581-618), faces south and has three gates, with a large tablet on the lintel with inscriptions telling how it was approved by the emperor and funded by royalty. There are two rooms on the both east and west sides, with three stone tablets in each room with a record of the temple through each dynasty. Its North Pole Mysterious Hall is a key part of the temple, with a statue of the Bodhisattva Wei Tuo surrounded by eight seated bronze Buddhas. Li Xiangzhi wrote in his travel notes during the Republic of China period that the temple is quite clean and tidy, the furniture well organized in tall rooms built of wood and the tiles on the roof are yellow-green, in checkerboard shape. During the reign of Zhu Zaihou, 1567-1572, during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the temple was rebuilt, then again more recently, in 1986. The main hall contains three stone niches, with the Manjusri Bodhisattva.

The temple got an extension and further repair work In 2001, on five Manjusri Halls, three Dragon King Halls, and a Stele Hall, all made of alabaster. There is a stone lion at each side of the gate, and a porch in front of the hall. From the porch you can see columns with ornaments like stone brackets. The Dragon King Hall has alabaster railings around it on a two-meter-high platform with an arched doorway and a single eave roof and there are various carvings of flowers and plants on the railings, with a spectacular feeling.

To the east of Dragon King Hall is the Yin Feng Tower, another place of interest. It was built in memory of the eminent monk, Yin Feng, of the Tang Dynasty (618-907). He was from Shaowu, Fujian province and was a venerable figure during that dynasty and lived here for many years. After his death, he was cremated and his ashes placed among Buddhist Relics in this tower. This is a place that everyone who comes here will want to visit, even if they are not monks or Buddhists.