Hunyuan, Shanxi | Yong'an Temple and Yuanjue Temple, a journey of exploration of the ancient charm

| Yong'an Temple and Yuanjue Temple, a journey of exploration of the thousand-year-old ancient charm. Hunyuan, Shanxi | Yong'an Temple + Yuanjue Temple, a journey through ancient buildings and murals that span thousands of years Today, I will take you to unlock a super niche treasure travel destination - Hunyuan, Shanxi! Here you can find not only Mount Hengshan and the Hanging Temple, but also two low-key but stunning ancient temples: Yong'an Temple and Yuanjue Temple! Here is a super detailed guide for everyone📋 Yong'an Temple 📍Address: Located in Hunyuan County (enter the ancient city from the Drum Tower and walk straight to the end for 5 minutes) 🎫Tickets: 20 yuan, can be purchased on site or on the "Hengshan Scenic Area" official account 🕙Opening hours: 8:00 - 18:00 🚗Transportation: Take a taxi from Hunyuan Bus Station for about 10 minutes Historical background Yong'an Temple, called "Big Temple" by locals, was first built in the Jin Dynasty and rebuilt in the Yuan Dynasty. It is an ancient temple that combines three religions. As soon as I entered the door, I was shocked by the magnificent hip-and-gable building! The yellow glazed tiles on the roof sparkle in the sun, it's breathtakingly beautiful! ✨ The most amazing thing is the Ming Dynasty murals in the main hall, 135 groups of 895 figures, every stroke is so delicate that it is amazing! Especially the one with green face, red hair, three heads and six arms, tiger-clothed Acala, who uses his hands to pull open his mask to reveal his true self, the visual impact is full! 👀 There is also the caisson of the heavenly palace pavilion above your head, which is gorgeous in the darkness, as if you have traveled through the world of ancient mythology! Main highlights * The Dharma-Transmitting Hall: Known as the "First Dharma-Transmitting Hall in China", it was rebuilt in the second year of Yuan Yanyou (1315) and has a history of more than 700 years. The hall is five bays wide and three bays deep, with a single-eaved hip roof and glazed tile decoration. It adopts the typical Yuan Dynasty method of reducing columns and has a unique architectural style. * National Treasure Murals: The south, east and west walls of the main hall are covered with huge water and land murals, covering an area of ​​about 180 square meters, with 882 water and land figures painted on them, which can be called "the complete image of ancient Chinese religious figures." The mural is divided into three layers, consisting of small squares. Each small square represents a story, and together they form the "Water and Land Dharma Assembly Picture." * North wall: "The Picture of the Vidyarajas Dhamma Performing the Dharma". The Ten Vidyarajas are the wrathful bodies of ten Buddhas. The most popular among them is Acala (called "Face-Torn Vidyaraja" by netizens), who is the wrathful body of Vairocana Buddha. He tears off his face with his hands to reveal his compassionate true face. He is the only Vidyaraja who teaches sentient beings with his original appearance. * East and southeast walls: The upper layer is the Bodhisattva Tsangpa, leading the celestial beings; the middle layer is the Emperor of Beiji Ziwei, leading the star gods; the lower layer is the Bodhisattva Mahakala, leading the Asura realm. * West and southwest walls: The upper layer is the Five Sacred Emperors, the Four Dragon Kings, etc.; the middle layer is the Ten Kings of Hell and the officials of the underworld; the lower layer is a group of images of evil spirits who died in human life due to natural disasters or man-made calamities. * Caisson: The octagonal caisson in the heavenly palace is exquisitely crafted and worth a closer look. * Large characters + plaque on the outer wall of the main hall: It is rare to see large characters written on the outer wall of the main hall of a temple. The front exterior wall is engraved with the characters "Zhuang" and "Yan", which are 3.8 meters high; the back wall is engraved with the characters "Tiger", "Xiao", "Dragon" and "Yin", which are majestic and imposing. The plaque hanging in the middle was originally written by the monk Xue'an in the early Yuan Dynasty (specially for plaques in the Yuan Dynasty imperial palace), and it is now a replica. The two characters "Zhuangyan" on both sides were written by the temple's abbot, Monk Yuexi, and have a signature and seal. 📸 Note on photography: You can take photos of the murals on site, but you cannot use flash. The light inside is dim, and the small murals on the east and west walls cannot be seen clearly from a distance or photographed clearly. There are replicas of paintings in the side halls on both sides, and you can go there to take pictures of the details. Yuanjue Temple Yuanjue Temple, commonly known as the "small temple", is small in size, but its Jin Dynasty brick tower with dense eaves is definitely the centerpiece! The tower is 32 meters high and the tower body is exquisitely carved, especially the iron phoenix weather vane on the top of the tower, which has been turning with the wind for nearly a thousand years. It is simply ancient black technology! In the evening, the setting sun shines on the tower, and the overlapping eaves look like layers of bouquets, as beautiful as a painting! There are 72 wind chimes on the tower. The breeze blows and the bells sound crisply, as if telling a thousand-year story~ 📍Address: Right next to Yong'an Temple 🎫Tickets: Free 🕙Opening hours: 8:30 - 11:50, 14:30 - 17:30 🚗Transportation: Just walk from Yong'an Temple 💡 Tips for playing * It is recommended to go to Yong'an Temple in the morning to slowly appreciate the architecture and murals, and go to Yuanjue Temple in the afternoon. * Please allow at least 1 hour to visit Yongan Temple to fully appreciate its charm.