Retracing the Lianglin Road in Shanxi, I marveled at the 'bullish' ancient wooden structures

Jishan County's Fawang Temple wasn't originally on our plan, but after visiting the brick carvings and tombs, we made a detour. Driving into Nanyang Village, construction was everywhere, with dust filling the air. At the end of the road was Fawang Temple, easy to find but with its gates firmly shut. 😭😭😭 An elderly lady came over, speaking to us enthusiastically, though we couldn't understand a word. She shuffled to the gate, pointed at a tattered sticker, and then sat down beside it, watching us intently. We moved closer and saw three names with phone numbers on the paper, so we called them one by one. The first didn't answer, the second was out playing, and the third was at a funeral but said they'd come with the keys to open the gate soon. It wasn't until the person arrived on a motorcycle from afar, keys in hand, that the temple's gates were opened, and the old lady's face lit up with a smile, revealing her concern about us being unable to enter. 😁😁😁 Who is the Fawang? The temple's gate provided the answer, inscribed with 'Temple of the Fawang of the Xuantian Shangdi,' indicating that the Fawang is the Northern Black Tortoise Emperor, also known as the God of the Northern Peak. (📌Photo 8) The mountain gate is exquisite, three bays wide and four rafters deep, with a single-eave hip-and-gable roof covered in green glazed tiles. An inscription on the plaque dates its construction to the Qing Dynasty's Tongzhi era. Pushing open the heavy doors, you enter a stage, a typical cross-shaped double-eave Xieshan-style structure with yellow-green glazed tiles, surrounded by galleries on the left, right, and back sides (📌Photo 4). The interior caisson ceiling looks like a star when viewed from below, and the beam frame structure uses corner-bracing to reduce the number of columns. Although it's a Ming Dynasty stage, after removing the surrounding structures, it closely resembles those from the Yuan Dynasty (📌Photos 2, 6, 7). Further inside is the main hall, stunningly beautiful, with a single-eave hanging mountain roof, and intricate and exquisite ridge beasts and chiwen. (📌Photos 1, 3) A five-bay gallery has been added to the front, and the interior's upper and lower sections connect with the golden columns on the inside, forming the structure of the central hall. However, the statues inside are quite frightening, probably newly made. (📌Photo 9) The temple's cultural heritage officer hurried us to look quickly and leave soon; we only stayed for about ten minutes, while a black dog barked angrily the whole time. The officer, who had rushed from a funeral, was not pleased, but we were still grateful, hoping that such ancient buildings will still be there in many years, still cherished by people like us, who come with persistence for a visit.