# Huayan Temple (华严寺)

Datong, Shanxi Province · North China, China · Guidebook rating: 4/5
Canonical: https://cnatrip.com/en/places/huayan-temple
Language: en

## Key facts

- **Admission:** ¥32
- **Opening hours:** 2026.11.01-2027.03.31 08:30-17:00; 2027.04.01-2027.10.31 08:30-17:30
- **Time needed:** 2–3 hours
- **Address:** No. 459 Xiasipo Street, Datong Ancient City, Pingcheng District, Datong City, Shanxi Province
- **Getting there:** Near Qingyuan Gate (bus stop) and Drum Tower (bus stop)
- **Good for:** History & Culture, Temples

## About Huayan Temple

During the Liao and Jin dynasties, Huayan Temple was one of China’s most important temples of the Huayan school of Buddhism. After the mid-Ming period, it was divided into an Upper Temple and a Lower Temple, each with its own gate and layout. Although the two are now joined as one complex, each still centres on a main hall. The Upper Temple’s focal point is the Jin-dynasty Great Hall, the largest surviving timber Buddhist hall in China. The Lower Temple centres on the Liao-dynasty Sutra Repository Hall, which preserves Liao-dynasty sculptures, stone sutra pillars, a multi-storey sutra cabinet, and celestial palace pavilions. Its wooden library hall is exquisitely carved. The Lower Temple now houses the Datong Museum.

## Tips from the guidebook

- Distinctive architecture within the temple
- The main halls of the Lower Temple all face east. This reflects the religious beliefs and living customs of the Khitan people, who worshipped spirits and the sun and regarded the east as the most honoured direction.

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Source: China Self-Guided Travel 2025 (《中国自助游》, Tianjin Science & Technology Press, Aug 2024), p. 1846. Prices, hours and transport details are as printed in the August 2024 edition and may have changed. Always confirm with the venue before you travel.
Site: China Trip (https://cnatrip.com) — independent China travel guide in 13 languages.