During the period of Emperor Longqing in Ming Dynasty from 1567 to 1572, Aletanhan, a lead of Tumote Mongolia, was conferred as the Shunyi Emperor of the Mongolian. Owing to the special honor, he decided to enlarge Guihua, the old city of Hohhot and Hongci Temple, an old Buddhist temple. Because the statue of Sakyamuni in the temple was made of silver entirely, so the Hongci Temple is also called the Silver Buddha Temple. In the center of the main hall, the sliver statue of Sakyamuni, which stands 2.55 meters high, is worshipped. Before the statue there are a couple of gold wooden huge pillars, each engraved with a dragon. In front of the hall there are a couple of hollow stone powerful lions cast in 1627. Besides, there are other buildings in the temple, like passing hall, east and west side halls, the nine-room building and so on. Just in front of the temple, there is a well whose water tastes cool and fresh, and it wins the reputation as the best spring in the region.
