[2025 Pingshun Attraction] Travel Guide for Shrine of Our Lady of the Nine Heavens (Updated Apr)

Driving from Changzhi, I traveled for over an hour on Provincial Road 325 before finding the Jiutian Shengmu Temple. Before I even parked, I saw the Jiutian Shengmu Temple built on a mound. The brilliant red walls and the calm gray tiles combined to create a majestic aura, especially striking under the clear blue sky. This striking appearance seemed to say to those who arrived, "After traveling thousands of miles, someone finally came." Entering through the main gate, the traditional central axis symmetrical layout of ancient Chinese architecture revealed the Xian Hall, the Shengmu Hall, and the flanking halls on both sides: the Ear Hall, the Medicine King Hall, the Yama Hall, the Dressing Hall, the Confucius Hall, the Houtu Hall, the Ten Commanders Hall, the Li Jing Hall, and the Dragon King Hall. The entire temple complex doesn't occupy a large area, with the halls arranged in a compact and orderly fashion. The initial construction date of the temple is unknown, but inscriptions record renovations from the Song Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty. Therefore, this Jiutian Shengmu Temple combines the architectural features of the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties. The main hall is Song Dynasty style, the Xian Hall is Yuan Dynasty style, the Dressing Hall is Ming Dynasty style, and the main gate is Qing Dynasty style. The integration of wooden structural features from different dynasties in one temple is also a major characteristic of ancient Shanxi architecture.

The Jiutian Shengmu Temple is a collection of ancient buildings from the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. Along the central axis are the mountain gate (with an inverted stage on top), the offering hall, and the Shengmu Hall. On both sides are the ear rooms, the Medicine King Hall, the Yama King Hall, the dressing building, the Confucius Hall, the Hou Tu Hall, the Ten Marshals Hall, the King Li Jing Hall, the Dragon King Hall, etc. Climbing up to the Dressing Building, you can clearly see the roofs of several buildings. The hip roof of the Offering Hall is particularly eye-catching, and the main ridge is perpendicular to that of other buildings and completely parallel to the central axis. 📍Address: Pingshun County - about 10 kilometers west of the city 🎫Ticket: 20 yuan/person 🈺Opening hours: 8:00-16:30

The offering hall of the Jiutian Shengmu Temple is quite large in both area and volume, and its roof is a hip-and-gable style. In ancient architecture, the hip-and-gable roof was a high-ranking form. The offering hall of the Jiutian Shengmu Temple is a Yuan Dynasty structure, sitting on a 1m-high bluestone platform. The hall is surrounded by 16 chamfered sandstone square columns. The eaves are supported by a single layer of four bracket sets. The beam frame consists of six rafters extending to the front and back, supported by two columns. The secondary bays have two rafter beams connected to the eaves at the front and back, supported by four columns. The column heads are decorated with plain friezes, and railings are installed between the columns. The lateral and upward curves of the roof are not prominent.