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| Jinci Temple |
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One of Taiyuan's most tourist visited sights, the Jinci Temple (Jinci
si), was popular for good reason. The temple is one of the most original
and oldest in this region of northeastern China, and was recently
listed as a state protected sight of cultural heritage. Unfortunately
the state does little to protect the sight from tourist pollution.
Jinci is located 25km southwest of the city proper, at the foot
of the large Xuanweng Mountain. It originally served as the ancestral
temple for a prince in the Western Zhou Dynasty (1100-771 BC), although
the modern temple was first built in the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534
AD).
The temple is basically divided into three parts, the north, the
center and the south, and the whole is filled with halls (most noticeably
the Goddess Mother Hall [Shengmu dian], the oldest wooden construction
in the city), terraces (including the first that you will come across
upon entering, the Ming Dynasty [1368-1644 AD] Mirror Terrace [Shui
jing tai]), pavilions, corridors and bridges. The temple feels a
little like the more impressive of the Suzhou gardens, especially
with the streams that run through the complex, although the litter
somewhat ruins this effect.
Most of the buildings here are from a variety of dynasties that
span over a thousand years. Of all of the halls, the Goddess Mother
Hall seems most interesting, dedicated as it is to the mother of
the Zhou Dynasty (1100-221 BC) prince, Shuyu. Shuyu, founder of
the Dynasty, was alleged to have magical powers, making him the
possible cause of the almost 1,000 year old cypress tree that you
can find next to the temple, bowing down at an unnaturally low angle.
Within the hall itself stand statues of 42 maids who circle a statue
of the hall's lady. |
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