Mystery, history & majesty

Xiaoxitian

Xiaoxitian, or the Thousand Buddha Monastery, in Xixian county was built in the late Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) atop a mountain resembling the shape of a phoenix. Constructed along the mountain's contours, it contains various two-story buildings arranged amid winding paths. Its northern library houses more than 7,000 volumes of Ming Dynasty Buddhist scriptures. Another highlight of Xiaoxitian is its 170-square-meter main hall that houses nearly 2,000 painted sculptures. These gilded statues of Buddhist figures, landscapes, architecture, plants and animals, the largest being 3 meters tall and the smallest as tiny as a thumb, demonstrate maximalist, luxurious aesthetics reminiscent of nirvana.