Located in southern Shanxi province and first established in the Tang dynasty, the temple has a long and rich history; it was expanded over the centuries and now includes temples at three levels. Much of the temple was damaged by an earthquake in the early fourteenth century and was rebuilt afterward. Today, the Guangsheng Temple stands as one of the better-preserved Yuan dynasty Buddhist monasteries. Two monumental murals (approximately 23 feet by 48 feet) from its Main Buddha Hall that were original to the fourteenth-century structure were removed during the late 1920s. They were sold separately to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where they were pieced together and have been displayed in the galleries since then.