Most great Chinese temples face south, aligning with ancient principles of cosmology and authority. The Huayan Monastery faces east. This orientation is not an error but a statement. The temple was founded by the Khitan people of the Liao Dynasty, who revered the rising sun. From its first principle, the building declares a different cultural perspective, one rooted in the traditions of nomadic conquerors who made this city their capital.

The monastery’s oldest surviving structure, the Sutra Hall from 1038, holds the quiet heart of that Liao worldview. Here, a gathering of clay statues has survived for a millennium. Among them is a Bodhisattva whose gentle, knowing smile shows a hint of teeth—a touch of human warmth so rare in the formal conventions of Chinese sculpture it is called the “Oriental Venus.” The hall also contains 38 pavilion-style sutra cabinets, intricate wooden models of buildings that are masterpieces of joinery in their own right.

The grand Mahavira Hall next to it tells a different story. It stands on the original Liao platform but was rebuilt on a massive scale by the Jin dynasty, who overthrew the Liao in the 12th century. It is one of the largest wooden Buddhist halls in China, a testament to the imperial ambitions of a new power. Its vast interior is filled with later additions: imposing statues from the Ming dynasty and elaborate murals from the Qing. Each dynasty left its mark, layering its own expressions of faith over the foundations of its predecessors. The monastery survived not by remaining static, but by accommodating the histories of those who came to rule this land.