Around 2000 years ago two Indian monks were invited to China to pass on Buddhist wisdom to the imperial court. Escorted by an entourage sent by Emperor Ming Di, the scholars endured many hardships during their long and arduous trek.
The guests and their convoy finally arrived in Luoyang, an ancient capital of Henan Province in east central China. With them were Buddhist scriptures and a statue of Buddha that had been carried on two white horses.
The emperor was pleased and thereafter issued an edict to build a monastery near Luoyang. Nearly two millennium after the ruler consecrated the first Buddhist temple in China I stood in peaceful gardens and gazed at the tombs of the Indian monks.
Bushes now grow on top of the mounds with simple tombstones marking the resting places for the two revered monks who translated the earliest Buddhist scriptures into Chinese.
While the sanctuary has been considerably modified over the ages, the White Horse Temple – so called because it’s fronted by two life-size carved white horses – is one of the tourism corner stones in Henan Province.
About 2 ½ times the size of Tasmania yet with a population nearing the 100 million mark, Henan has a long history of civilisation.
Central China Image 1
Beginning with the Xia Dynasty, the first empire in China, more than 200 emperors from more than 20 dynasties began or relocated their capitals to Henan Province. Many priceless relics remain from this long period in Chinese history.
Stones Sentinels
The largest of these spreads nearly a kilometre along a cliff face fronting a tributary of the Yellow River. Inscribed on the World Heritage List, the Longmen (or Dragon Gate) Grottos were carved from solid stone over some 400 years beginning in the 5th century AD.
During this period more than 100,000 images and statues of the Buddha and his disciples, 40 pagodas, 3600 tablets with Buddhist inscriptions and 1352 caves were carved by pious artists.
The largest which is located in the Fengxian Temple can’t be missed as it’s a 17.14 metre seated Buddha. The ear alone is 1.9 metres long!
Henan is not the sole keeper of China’s impressive collection of globally important treasures; neighbouring Shanxi Province is also one of the cradles of Chinese culture.
In fact, this slightly smaller and considerably less populated province has 271 major historic sites under special national protection.
Though the province is richly endowed with vast cultural, historic and scenic resources, the time available for my odyssey through central China was rather limited. One place, however, sublimely combines all three attributes and I just had to include it in my itinerary.
Located in the northern reaches of Shanxi about 230 km from the provincial capital of Taiyuan, a modern expressway has yet to breach the mountainous barrier that rings the tiny monastic village of Taihuai.
This alpine valley town accessed by a winding but hard surfaced road is surrounded by the five peaks of the Wutai Shan Range. The highest of these at 3058 metres is known as the “Roof of Northern China”.
At one time there were more than 200 temples in the valley; around 50 remain today. Resembling a large white bottle, the Tayuan Temple is visible from every vantage point in town.
Central China Image 2
Treasures of Time
Built in the 15th century the glistening temple is the first sanctuary seen as visitors arrive or depart the peaceful little hamlet in the heartlands of the Buddhist Holy Land.
Whereas Taihuai is encircled by a seemingly impenetrable mountain range, Pingyao is surrounded by another formidable barrier. Located about 715 km south of Beijing, Pingyao is noted for its well preserved 6 km long city wall.
Built during the Ming and Qing dynasties, the current 12 metre high barrier first took form around 1370 AD. The town is far older, however, with a history dating back some 2800 years.
Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in olden days Pingyao was a major trade centre on the old route between Beijing and Xian, the eastern terminus of the Silk Road.
Pingyao was also a significant financial hub and China’s first bank can be visited. It began in the late 18th century when a prosperous merchant introduced a financial institution that endured for more than a century.
The bank is now a museum with over 100 rooms. I plodded through many of them and then strolled around this fascinating pedestrian-friendly town that’s still home to some 40,000 people.
The entire walled city is actually a living museum in itself with the streets and shopfronts retaining their centuries old appearance.
After a hurried meal of local specialities including pancakes with string beans and oodles of noodles prepared in a number of imaginative ways I returned to the grid patterned streets of Pingyao as the sun was setting behind the weather-worn walls.
Red lanterns had been placed above shops and merchants were selling snacks made from time-tested recipes. Quiet had again swept over a little parcel of China that still exists in a different time and in a different place.
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