Nanzhao Built a Great Bell Hall 南诏建极大钟

I had to clear the entire park within one hour since it was already almost closing time. It figured that as long as I am able to make it to the end of the park within one hour, even if they chase me out, I have already seen what I needed to see. Another thing going against me is that the sun was setting behind the temple and behind the Cangshan mountains. I couldn’t get good lighting for this one but time is a luxury I do not have. I figured there would be hall after hall after hall typical of Chinese temple layouts. At least I know what is coming.

The first hall I encountered was the curiously named Nanzhao Built a Great Bell Hall 南诏建极大钟. As the name suggests, the Nanzhao, a kingdom back then, cast a very large bell back then which was a foot thick. When it tolls, it can be heard for 80 li (estimated to be 40 kilometers). This was the town’s pride and treasure, unfortunately, it was destroyed in a war. It has since been recast a is one of the largest bells in the country. Unfortunately, the bell was dark and it was extremely difficult to get a proper shot so I only took shots of the hall which was housing it. Now off to the next hall.

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