Ancient architecture

This is the Hanging Temple or xuan kong si from near . Look at the supports .

Look at the supporting tilts

It was explained that the vertical wooden tilts were not really supporting the building. It was the horizontal foundation that went metres deep into the cliff that were supporting the building . The building was solely wooden . The wood used was said to have been soaked in certain type of oil for years before being used in the construction of the building .

As we climbed up the building, we noticed that there were many tourists at the same time and we started to worry about the safety measures taken by the authority. We worried that the building cannot support the number of tourist up there . Look at the narrow passage in this picture below .

Walkways that allowed only one person to pass each time

When we asked the guard on duty what were the measures the authority took to control the number of tourist on the temple, he said there was no need to do so . He said the architectural design of the temple itself was a control , He explained that the passage ways of the temple were designed in such a way that it was impossible to have a crowd at a same spot. So he says it was very safe .

It was also said that the river bed had been  raised  over the years by natural erosion of the mountains, making the monastery only hanging 50 metres above ground . Those days it was said that the temple was 100 metres above ground. This place was on highland about 1000m above sea level , windy and cold .

This is indeed another breathtaking heritage site China offers ........