[2024 Jinzhong Attraction] Travel Guide for Jingxin Temple (Updated Oct)
Temples
Address:
Taigu, Jinzhong, Shanxi, China
Opening times:
Opening hours TBDTemporarily Closed
Recommended sightseeing time:
1-2 hours
Phone:
0354-2636528
Travel to Shanxi, don't miss this treasure ancient temple
✅️There is a place 30 minutes by bullet train from Taiyuan, it is the hometown of Mencius' mother Zhang Shi, the ancestral home of the Tang Dynasty poet Bai Juyi, and the hometown of the modern celebrity Kong Xiangxi. With a history of more than 1,400 years, it once became the 'Wall Street of China' due to the Jin merchants. This is Taigu, named after 'Three Mountains as Tai, Nine Valleys as Gu'.
✅️In addition to its long history, Taigu also retains rich relics. Within the small area of Taigu, there are 10 national key cultural relic protection units. Besides the former residence of Kong Xiangxi and Wubian Temple, my favorite is Jinxin Temple located in Yangyi Village, Yangyi Township.
🚗Although Jinxin Temple is not well-known, it is actually not difficult to reach. You can take a train from Taiyuan to Taigu or Taigu West Station. I recommend getting off at Taigu Station. After getting off, I didn't find any direct buses, but you can take a taxi or a tricycle, and it's not far.
✅️Upon arriving at Jinxin Temple, I initially couldn't find the contact information of the cultural relics manager. Later, after carefully searching, I found the phone number on the screen wall. After calling, the manager was initially reluctant to come and open the door, but after some pleading and explaining that I came from afar, and offering some compensation, she finally came to open the door for me, for which I was very grateful.
✅️Looking into the history of Jinxin Temple, we can learn that it was founded in the sixth year of the Kaiyuan period of the Tang Dynasty. It was originally a nunnery and later changed to a monastery. After several renovations and expansions over the dynasties, it has formed the current two-entry courtyard.
✅️The central axis from south to north includes the mountain gate, the opera stage, the Pilu Hall, and the Mahavira Hall. On both sides, there are the White Robe Hall (Niangniang Hall), the Guan Gong Hall, the Huiquan Hall, the Bell Tower, the Drum Tower, the East and West Heavenly King Halls, the Guanyin Hall, and the Dizang Hall.
✅️First, let's look at the opera stage. The design of this stage is very special. It is a combination of a front veranda with a hip-and-gable roof and a back with a suspended gable roof. There are also wooden eight-character walls on both sides.
However, the most spectacular part of this stage is the wooden carvings on the dougong and eaves. The ends of the beams and the heads of the brackets are carved into dragon heads, and the dragon and phoenix patterns on the brackets are intricately carved. The top of the stage is covered with dazzling peacock blue glazed tiles, which look brilliant from a distance.
✅️Next, let's look at the Manjusri Hall, which preserves the most beautiful hanging sculptures in Jinxin Temple. In the middle of the hall is the main statue of Manjusri riding a lion, surrounded by various Arhat statues, some kind, some serene, some cute, all with different expressions. The surroundings are decorated with hanging sculptures of mountains, trees, clouds, and flying phoenixes, creating a heavenly sanctuary.
The Puxian Hall opposite also has hanging sculptures, but they are not as well-preserved.
✅️Next, let's look at the Niangniang Hall. As the name suggests, this is a place where people pray for children. Inside the hall, there is a statue of a wet nurse and double-sided maid statues, which are very special and worth a good look. The wet nurse's expression is kind and elegant, making it a fine example of Ming Dynasty colored sculptures.
✅️For those who like murals, you should also check out the Fox God Hall, which enshrines Hu Tu, a minister of the Jin State during the Spring and Autumn period. The hall is not large, but the two murals inside are very special, with a tiger on the west side and a dragon on the east side.
✅️Finally, be sure to see the Mahavira Hall, a Ming Dynasty building with a single-eave gable roof, five rooms wide and three rooms deep. Inside the hall, there are Ming Dynasty colored sculptures, including statues of Buddha, Guanyin, and Mahasthamaprapta.
The east and west walls also retain late Ming Dynasty water and land murals - the 'All Heavens Worshiping Buddha' painting, with colors mainly in white, blue, and red.
✅️It is also said that on the 18th day of the second lunar month, there is a temple fair in Yangyi, and Jinxin Temple will be open for local people to worship.
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Ground cultural relics look at Shanxi|Jinzhong|Jingxin Temple
Jingxin Temple, founded in the sixth year of Kaiyuan in the Tang Dynasty (714); rebuilt during the Dading period of the Jin Dynasty (1161-1189);
During the Zhengde period of the Ming Dynasty (1506-1521), the Pilu Hall was used as the southern hall, and the Daxiong Hall was expanded to the north with five rooms, the Guanyin Hall and the Dizang Hall each with five rooms, and a stage;
In the thirty-third year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty (1605), a bell and drum tower was added; in the forty-fourth year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty (1616), the Baiyi Hall and Huiquan Hall were added.
The stage: built on a 1.8-meter-high platform, the back stage is three rooms wide and four rafters deep, with a single eave hanging mountain top, and eight-character sound walls on both sides. The front stage is three rooms wide and five rafters deep, with a rolled shed and a mountain top. The peacock blue glazed tile covers the top, and a plaque of "Shen Ting and Peace" from the fourth year of Daoguang (1824) hangs under the eaves. The heads of the eaves are all carved into dragon heads, and the birds are carved into coiled dragons. The word "Zhao Jia" is written on the back of the stage, and the upper and lower stage doors are titled "Chu Jiang" and "Ren Xiang" respectively.
Pilu Hall: Also known as the Three Buddha Hall, it is a main hall with three rooms wide and a single eave hanging mountain top. Inside the hall are statues of Sakyamuni Buddha, Medicine Buddha and Amitabha Buddha. The east and west walls and the rear eave wall of the Three Buddha Hall are painted with murals, which are Buddha's life pictures made with Buddha's stories, drawn in the form of Ming Dynasty's popular comic strip and Ming-style meticulous painting, actually drawn in the Qing Dynasty.
Daxiong Hall: Ming Dynasty architecture, five rooms wide and three rooms deep, with a single eave hanging mountain top, no pillars inside, and statues of Tathagata Buddha, Guanyin Bodhisattva, and Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva. The east and west walls are also painted with pictures of all the heavens worshiping the Buddha, using the Ming-style meticulous painting method.
The layout of the temple is very regular, the stage, hanging sculptures, murals, and glazed tiles are all very exquisite, each of the 11 halls has something to see inside and out, and I don't know where to look first.
Tips:
In 2006, Jingxin Temple was announced by the State Council as the sixth batch of national key cultural relics protection units.
It is difficult to take a taxi around Jingxin Temple, it is recommended to drive there.