Little West Raj. A place where Buddhism meets the Ming dynasty's craftsmanship

Climbing steep stairs leading through a dense shade of mountain slopes, I had no thought what I would see at the top. Yet the name itself – Xiaoxitian, or “Little Western Paradise” – gave a taste of something special. Located in Xi County, Shanxi Province, a Buddhist Zen monastery, founded in 1629 by monk Dongming, turned out to be 1 of the most...