Hongchun Monastery

       Leaving Qingyin Pavilion,you pass the Black_Dragon Plank Road along the Face of the Cliff and then walk through a deep cliff where the sky is seen as a thin piece of thread. Afterwards,you have to cross three bridges,climb a thouosand steps and then arrived at a memorial archway.Finally,you get to theThousand_Buddha Image Monastery in Hongchun Terrace. The terrance is named ater the three age_old Chinese toon trees outside the monastery.
     The origin of the monastery can be traced back to the eighth century.It is said that there was no spring water in the monastery at that time.The water shortage lasted until the Ming dynasty when Monk De Xing dug for spring water using his tin can,and the water gushed out instantly in front of Guanyin Hall in the monastery.
     The monastery is nestled among gren hills, and surrounded by tall,age_old, well_spaced trees. The area remains evergreen like spring all year round.Emperor Kangxi offtered an inscription called Wang Chen Lu,which remains as an engraved calligraphy on the stone inside.A horizontal inscribed board hangs on the top of the monastery entrance gate.The inscription was provided by Lin Sen,one of the late Chairmen of the Kuomintang government.To the lift side of Guanyin Hall there is Lin Sen's Small Garden where Lin Sen stayed temporarily during the Anti_Japanese War.In June 1938, it was in this garden where the ambassador of the former Soviet Union presented to Lin Sen the letter of credence.In July,Lin Sen gathered 32 eminent monks in the garden to hold a seven_day Buddhist Ullambana Festival to release from purgatory the souls of generals and soldiers killed in the battles, as well as the masses of slaughtered civilians.
     In Guanyin Hall there is a Buddha Tower with Wenshu,Puxian and Guanyin figers statues placed inside for worship.Right in fornt of the three figures hangs a seven_sided lotus lantrn,2.25m in heigh. In addition, the lantern has 231 exquisitely carved Buddha figures and lively carved
dragons and other spiritual beastes lying among the lantern sides. The lantern displays a series of folk and Daoist stories related to supernatural beings. These legends and artifacts show how the diverse cultural features of Chinese Buddhism and Buddhism on Mt.Emei have merged and become intertwined over centuries of development.