Yunding Mountain in Chengdu, Sichuan integrates cultural elements from all over the world, and is also a witness to the cultural and commercial exchanges between Sichuan, the land of abundance in ancient times, and Persia and Central Asia. As time goes by, many scenic spots and historic sites have been forgotten by people, but Yunding Mountain still exudes its own uniqueness.

Charm.

Chengdu is not only the gourmet capital of the world, but also a highly tolerant international metropolis. Like other cities, the economic, cultural, and historical development of each urban area in Chengdu also vary greatly.

Jintang, located at the northeastern end of Chengdu, has always been a "poor place" among the Chengdu population.

However, there are beautiful scenery such as Yundingshan Stone City, Ciyun Temple, and Wufeng River hidden here, and it is known as the "Tianfu Garden Water City".

Nowadays, there are countless man-made Internet celebrity attractions in the tourism industry. Fortunately, Jintang County, a city-level county regarded as an "abandoned baby", still retains its original scenery and scenery.

The most famous place in Jintang County is the mist-shrouded Yunding Mountain. During autumn and winter, the ginkgo trees in the ancient temples on the mountain turn yellow, making it look like a fairy tale world. It is so beautiful that the place becomes crowded with tourists.

Hidden in the scenic Yunding Mountain is an ancient temple that dates back more than 1,800 years. It is one of the top ten ancient temples in the Tang Dynasty in China. In the old days, this ancient temple was originally named Tiangong Temple, and was later renamed Ciyun Temple during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty.

Located in the middle of the Longquan Mountains with an altitude of nearly 1,000 meters, surrounded by green mountains, green waters, and rolling clouds, it is a holy place for spiritual practice.

Yunding Mountain is famous throughout Sichuan for the winding mountain roads of Stone City and the beauty of stone buildings.

Regarding Ciyun Temple in Yunding Mountain, I only know that it has thousands of years of ginkgo trees, but I don’t know that it is an ancient temple with numerous eminent monks.

Yunding Mountain, a place with outstanding people, has always had eminent monks emerge in large numbers, and it was very prosperous.

Although today's Ciyun Temple no longer has the bustling city scene of the past, and the incense is not as prosperous as it used to be, there is a tranquility here that is hard to find in bustling urban life.

Although Ciyun Temple in the vast green mountains is not as magnificent as other famous temples, it has a unique sense of tranquility.

It is reported that the third prince of ancient Iran got married and practiced Buddhism here, and built the Ciyun Temple in Yunding Mountain.

This ancient Iranian prince was Master Shigao. He was extremely intelligent and proficient in 64 Sanskrit languages. He played a great role in promoting the spread of Buddhism eastward, and his contribution was no less than that of Patriarch Bodhidharma.

Master Shigao, who was extremely accomplished in Buddhism, was so famous in Shu that even Han Zhaolie Liu Bei heard the news and sent his son Liu Chan to Ciyun Temple to study Buddhism, music, and writing.

Because his son made great progress after studying here, Emperor Shu Emperor Liu Bei built a large-scale construction project here and built the Tiangong Temple.

Ciyun Temple has ten halls, four floors, three halls, two gardens and one square. It currently has a construction area of ??5,494 square meters.

Hengha Hall, Seven Buddhas Square, Tianwang Hall, Guanyin Hall, Mahavira Hall, Holy Palace, Sutra Library, and Patriarch Hall.

On the left and right sides are the Bell Tower, Drum Tower, Luohan Hall, Five Views Hall, East Garden, West Garden, etc.

At the end of the courtyard, there are stables, study rooms and nirvana rooms.

After entering the courtyard a few times as the program progressed, we realized that Ciyun Temple was once glorious in the past.

As it was destroyed, demolished, and occupied during the Republic of China, Ciyun Temple could never return to its former prosperity.

This is what is often said among the people: "Go up to Yunding and go down to Baoding."

Among the halls of Ciyun Temple, the most objective one is the stone and wood structure of the Heavenly Palace.

The hall has a hanging mountain roof, with a width of 3 rooms and 13.1 meters. There are couplets carved in stone on the front and rear eaves.

There are peony vases, chrysanthemum vases, dragon and tiger stone carvings on both sides, which is wonderful.

The Guanyin Hall of Ciyun Temple is the most magnificent hall in the entire temple.

There are exquisite colorful sculptures of "Two Dragons Playing with Pearls" in the hall, as well as 47 colorful murals of characters and stories, which are full of fun and fascinating.

The Arhat Hall, built with a closed stone and wood structure in the shape of a "field", once housed five hundred Arhats. After it was destroyed, it was restored with funds raised by the temple monks. It is worth a visit.

There are also four stone tablets in the temple that are like rare treasures, on which are respectively engraved the "Stele of the Bodhisattva's Precepts", "The Paramita Heart Sutra", "The Stele of the Reconstruction of the Tiangong Zen Temple", and "The Stele of the Biographies of the Eminent Monks of Ciyun Temple".

The age of the first two stone steles has been unknown, while the last two stone steles were from the Ming and Qing dynasties respectively.

Far away from the hustle and bustle of the city, Ciyun Temple is located at the top of the peaks, surrounded by misty clouds and filled with spiritual energy.

Surrounded by ancient cypresses, dripping green pines, hazy light and mist, it is a perfect place to cleanse the soul.

After paying homage to the ancient temple, while roaming around Yunding Mountain, I saw hundreds of steps on the cliffs. Climbing up, I saw mountains and mountains, winding mountains, dangerous peaks standing high in the sky, and a temple looming in the dense forest near the mountains and rivers.

Enjoy this beautiful scenery to yourself.