The Spectacular TaiHang Mountains
Tuesday, May 19th, 2015Last weekend, I visited the village of Chinese friends in WuXiang (武乡) County, Shanxi Province, about three hours drive south of provincial capital Taiyuan. It’s an area well away from the international tourist sites and where few other foreigners have been, with many fascinating and very friendly ancient villages. On Saturday we explored a spectacular section of the TaiHang Mountains east of the village. The TaiHang Mountains are a 400 km long range that runs north-south along the eastern boundary of Shanxi Province. As well as stunning natural scenery, a great surprise was to hear Buddhist chanting wafting through the valleys. Rounding a spur, we came across a remote Buddhist temple inside a cave with sacred spring and monks cabins along the cliff line. On Sunday we went to the nearby TaiHang Dragon cave, a local attraction, which was also impressive.
TaiHang Mountains
TaiHang Mountains
Buddhist Cave Temple, TaiHang Mountains
Buddhist Cave Temple and Monk’s Cabins
Interior, Buddhist Cave Temple
Sacred Spring, Buddhist Cave Temple
Sacred Spring, Buddhist Cave Temple
Entrance, TaiHang Dragon Cave
TaiHang Dragon Cave
