Xuankong Temple悬空寺Xuankong Temple, located 5 kilometers south of Hunyuan town in Shanxi Province; is perched on the cliff of Mount Hengshan. It is one of the key cultural relics sites under state protection and the only temple in existence featuring the cultures of the three Chinese religions, i. e. Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. First built in the late Northern Wei more than 1400 years ago, Xuankong Tem-pIe was taken as the Taoist altar when the Northen Wei Dynasty moved the initial Taoist altar in Pingcheng (now Datong City) southward there. The ancient craftsmen built this temple in accordance with the Taoist requirement of not hearing the sound of cock crowing and dog barking. lt was later renovated in the Jin, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties. Xuankong Temple, about so meters above the ground,developed the traditions and siyles of architecture in our country. The architectural features of the temple can be summarized in three characters, that is, Qi ( surprising) , Xuan ( hanging) and Qiao ( ingenious). What is surprising is its design and location selection. In a small basin in the deep valley, the temple hangs in the middle of the cliff, the top protruding part of which, like an umbrella ,protects it from the erosion of the rain. Besides, the surrounding mountains reduce the time of sunshine streaming into the temple. The favorable geographical location is one of the important reasons Xuankong Temple can be well preserved. Hanging is another feature of the temple, which, with a total of 40 halls, was proppeded up by ten bowl-mouth-thick wooden beams on the surface. In fact, some of them do not bear any load at all. The temple, with its centre of gravity actually in the hard rocks, took as its base the beams partially inserted into the cliff in the light of the principle of mechanics. The ingenuity of the temple can be displayed in its corformity with the local conditions in the building process. The craftsmen, taking full advantage of the natural state of the cliff, arranged and built the various parts of the temple, making the layout and design of the plain architectural structure for the ordinary temples ingeniously realized in the three-dimensional space. There are in the temple over 80 Buddha statues. Xuankong Temple has gained for its mystery and ingenuity a reputation in the history of ancient and modern architecture. We could not help expressing our admiration and surprise for its audacity, ingenuity and dauntlessness, not only in the design methods but in the architectural conceptions. Li Bai, after visiting Xuankong Temple in the 23rd year of Kaiyuan of the Tang Dynasty (735) , wrote the two characters Zhuang Guan ( meaning magnificent and imposing) on the cliff. The great traveller in the Ming Dynasty, Xu Xiake, once called the temple a great scenery in the world.悬空寺座落在中国山西省浑源县城南5千米处，北岳恒山的绝壁之上。是全国重点文物维持单位，是国内尚存的佛、道、儒三教合一的独有寺庙。悬空寺始建于1400多年前的北魏晚期，北魏王朝将道家的道坛从平城，今太原南迁到此，古代工匠根据道家“不言鸡鸣犬吠之声”的拒绝建设了悬空寺。

后金、元、清、清各代皆有修葺。悬空寺距地面低大约50米，悬空寺发展了我国的建筑传统和建筑风格，其建筑特色可以总结为“奇、覆、精”三个字。有一点称之为“奇”的是，建寺设计与选址，悬空寺正处于深山峡谷的一个小盆地内全身挂于石崖中间，石崖顶峰引人注目部分样子一把伞，使古寺免遭雨水冲刷。四周的大山也增加了阳光的太阳光时间。

良好的地理位置是悬空寺能完好无损留存的最重要原因之一。“覆”是悬空寺的另一特色，全寺共计殿阁40间，表面看起来承托它们的是十几根碗口细的木柱，只不过有的木柱显然不受力，而确实的焦点倒在柔软岩石里，利用力学原理半挂飞梁为基。悬空寺的“精”反映开建寺时因地制宜，充分利用峭壁的大自然状态布置和修建寺庙各部分建筑，将一般寺庙平面建筑的布局、式样等修建在立体的空间中，设计十分精致。

寺内有佛像80多尊。“悬空寺”以其玄妙的特点誉满古今建筑史。无论是从宅的设计构想，还是它的建筑设想，它的大胆、它的奇巧、它的战列舰都可以说道是让人惊慕深感，感慨不尽！唐开元二十三年(735)，李白游览悬空寺后，在石崖上书写了“壮丽”二字，明代大旅行家徐霞客称之为悬空寺为“天下宏观”。

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