Chongshan Temple (Chongshan si, Temple for Appreciating Kindliness) was originally built in the last years of the Sui Dynasty about fourteen centuries ago. When first built, the complex was a sojourning palace for the then emperor when he visited the area. It was not until the year 1381 AD that the complex became a monastery, after a large scale expansion in commemoration of the recently deceased Ming Dynasty's first empress.

Construction was completed in 1391. The layout of the splendid palace-like monastery is evident from the extant Chongshan Monastery Construction Plan. Covering an area of 245 mu (40.4 acres), the Chongshan Monastery was obviously magnificent.

However, during the reign of Emperor Tongzhi (1856-1875) of the Qing Dynasty, the monastery was almost reduced to ashes. A fire in 1864 pought almost all of the buildings down in ashes. Today, the remains of the once large complex include the main gate, a bell tower, the main hall (Dabei dian) and two side rooms, all of which take on a typical Ming Dynasty architectural look. On approach visitors to the temple are confronted by a pair of iron sentry lions that squat solemnly in front of the gate. The best of the halls here is the main hall, that houses three Buddhas. The largest of these, the central Buddha, is a statue of Guanyin, the Goddess of Mercy, who has a representational 1,000 hands and eyes and who stands at 8.5 meters tall. The monastery also boasts a rare collection of sutras written in the Song (960-1279 AD), Yuan (1271-1368 AD), Ming (1368-1644 AD) and Qing (1644-1911 AD) dynasties.

In these surviving monastery buildings are three splendid treasures. One is the sutras. Chongshan Monastery is famous for the original edition of the sutras of the Song, Jin, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties kept here. The oldest sutra has a history of over 1000 years. The second treasure is the 'Gem Paintings,' copies of two frescos still retaining their pight colors after 500 years. The third treasure is three gilded Ming Dynasty mud statues of Bodhisattvas all about 8 meters (26.2 feet) high. In the middle is Kwan-yin Goddess of Mercy, with her one thousand hands and eyes. All three statues still retain their florid colors and smooth lines, rare artworks of the Ming Dynasty.

A Buddhist temple, Chongshan Monastery has become a key cultural relic under the protection of Shanxi Province and home to the Buddhist Association of Shanxi Province. The precious sutra and Taoist scriptures are not only examples of Chinese woodblock printing history, but of ancient Chinese calligraphy and carving arts luring accomplished monks, scholars and tourists.