Fengguo Temple

CHINA, Liaoning, Jinzhou

It was established in 1020 during the Liao dynasty, and was given its present name in the Jin dynasty (1115–1234). The Liao (907–1125), Jin, and Yuan (1271–1368) dynasties marked a period of great prosperity for the temple but it then went into decline. The Great Hero Hall is the only extant building from the Liao dynasty, while the others were all built in the Qing dynasty (1644–1911). The temple was listed as a National Cultural Heritage Site in 1961.
The layout of the temple was changed during the Qing dynasty. It now consists of the outer main temple gate, inner main temple gate, gateway, bell pavilion, stele pavilion, Infinity Hall, and the Great Hero Hall.
The Great Hero Hall is the earliest extant wooden building in the northeast region of China, as well as one of the two largest existing Liao Buddha halls in all of China. The nine-by-five bay hall is built upon a high brick base with an extended platform at the front. It measures 55 m wide, 33 m deep, and 24 m high. It has a single-eave hip roof supported by tapered columns, bracket sets, and downward pointing cantilevers.
Statues of the Seven Buddhas are enshrined upon a Sumeru platform within the Great Hero Hall: Vipasyin, Sikhin, Visvabhu, Krakucchanda, Kanakamuni, Kasyapa, and Sakyamuni. In front of each Buddha there is an attendant Bodhisattva, while a Heavenly King stands at either end of the platform. Above the beams there are apsaras painted during the Liao dynasty and they are considered to be fine examples of artwork from that period. There are murals from the Yuan and Ming (1368–1644) dynasties, depicting ten Buddhas, eight Bodhisattvas, and Eleven-Headed Avalokitesvara. At the east and west ends of the building, there are eleven inscribed steles dating from the Jin to Qing dynasty.