The Huayan Monastery complex is located on Daxi Street on the south western side of Datong City.Temple containing a library of some 18,000 volumes of Buddhist writings. Built during the Liao Dynasty (907 – 1125), it is the largest and best preserved monastery of the Liao Dynasty in existence.
Emperors in the Liao Dynasty sincerely believed in Buddhism, so they built many monasteries. The Huayan Monastery was originally the ancestral temple of the imperial family, offering sacrifices for emperors of the Liao Dynasty. In the middle period of the Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644), the temple was divided into two parts the upper and lower monasteries and was renovated and enlarged several times to its present form.
Now, the upper and lower monasteries are connected together, but each has a main hall.
