[2025 Changzhi Attraction] Travel Guide for Yuanqi Temple (Updated Jun)

Yuanqi Temple is located on Fenghuang Mountain (Phoenix Mountain) on the south bank of the Zhuozhang River in Xin'an Village, Huangniuti Township, Lucheng District, Changzhi City. It is a nationally protected key cultural heritage site. The name "Yuanqi" carries meanings of origin, beginning, and predestined inception. Legend has it that Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Longji, fearing the prophecy of "another empress rising," ordered the construction of Yuanqi Temple on Fenghuang Mountain (shaped like a phoenix, a geomantically noble site) in 747 AD to suppress the "phoenix vein" and prevent future empresses or imperial consorts from threatening the Li-Tang dynasty. In 1087 AD, during the Northern Song Dynasty, the Qinglong Pagoda (Azure Dragon Pagoda) was added to further strengthen the "vein-subduing" function, forming the feng shui layout of "the pagoda subduing the river demon." According to the temple's sutra pillar records, Yuanqi Temple was first built in 747 AD during the Tang Dynasty, with the Qinglong Pagoda added in 1087 AD. It underwent renovations across dynasties. The Mahavira Hall and Qinglong Pagoda retain their original Song Dynasty structures, while other buildings date to the Ming and Qing periods. The surviving complex includes the mountain gate, main hall, offering pavilion, east side hall, and Dasheng Pagoda, along with Tang-era sutra pillars and Northern Song stone carvings. The temple faces south, measuring 20 meters east-west and 18 meters north-south, covering 360 square meters. Though small, its layout is harmonious and well-proportioned. Built on a raised terrace, the temple features towering pagodas amidst pine and cypress trees. The main hall, with a single-eave hip-and-gable roof, has three bays wide and four rafters deep, showcasing early architectural craftsmanship. Its gently sloping roof, deep eaves, glazed tiles, and elegantly carved brackets reflect refined design. In front of the Mahavira Hall stands a square Ming Dynasty offering pavilion supported by four stone pillars. An octagonal Tang-era sutra pillar (747 AD) nearby depicts graceful musicians and attendants. Four stone pillars bear a poetic quatrain: *"Mist veils the pagoda, smoke cloaks the temple; dusk bells echo, night tides murmur. Towers glow crimson at heaven's edge; layered peaks pierce emerald clouds."* The Dasheng Pagoda (commonly called Qinglong Pagoda) rises 17 meters west of the hall. This seven-story octagonal brick pagoda imitates wooden tower designs, with hollow lower levels and solid upper tiers. Its tapered form, intricate bracketing, and eight iron-chained guardian statues at the summit exemplify artistic mastery. Fifty-six wind-activated iron bells hang from its corners. Folklore claims the pagoda seals a bottomless cave linked to the Zhuozhang River—believed to be the phoenix's throat—thus protecting the region. Originally a village shrine, Yuanqi Temple was long closed to the public despite its national status, requiring advance contact for access. Recently, the Lucheng District Cultural Museum announced its official opening starting April 28. Visitors are invited to explore this millennium-old sanctuary's unique charm! **Hours:** 8:30 AM - 6:00 PM (last entry 5:30 PM) **Admission:** ¥20/person (discounts for eligible pass holders). Combine your visit with other national treasures along the Zhuozhang River for a journey through southern Taihang's history.

🌟My love for ancient Chinese architecture was awakened, and I avoided the super popular Taiyuan and the crowded tourist spots of Datong. Instead, I discovered Changzhi, which also preserves ancient buildings dating back thousands of years.👏👏 It has over a thousand well-preserved historical sites, with its history tracing back to the Tang Dynasty. Each attraction carries a thousand years of history. Changzhi has many unique and unparalleled (in the country) reliefs, painted sculptures, murals, and various ancient buildings!🔥🔥 Follow my route and embark on this wonderful journey through thousands of years to feel the weight and depth of history. 🌟: Changzhi 2-Day Tour Guide! (The destinations are relatively scattered, so I recommend driving or renting a car.) 👉 Day 1: Chongqing Temple → Xiahuo Huguo Lingkuang Wang Temple → Guanyin Hall (Must-see) → Faxing Temple → Zhongzhang Fuxi Temple → Zhengjue Temple Food recommendations: Cat ear noodles, donkey meat flatbread, Changzi pig head meat, ghee sesame cake, stir-fried pancake, Huguan mutton 👉 Day 2: Zhuozhang River Valley: Tiantai Temple → Yuanqi Temple → Dayun Temple → Fotou Temple → Chunhua Temple → Huilong Temple → Xia Yu Shrine → Longmen Temple 🙇: There are very few places to eat here, so I recommend bringing your own food for each day. Stay in the city at night, otherwise you'll have to eat instant noodles like I did. 👍👍Top recommendations Longmen Temple - An unparalleled ancient architecture museum, with one courtyard spanning five dynasties. Tickets are 20💷. Tiantai Temple - One of the few remaining wooden Guanyin halls from the Later Tang and Five Dynasties periods in the country - a combination of Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. It is also an important filming location for Black Myth: Wukong. Chongqing Temple - Northern Song Dynasty sculptures, the Eighteen Arhats are lifelike. Dayun Temple - The only remaining Five Dynasties murals in temples and Taoist temples in China.

📍Location: Xinan Village, Huangniuti Township, Lucheng District, Changzhi City, Shanxi Province 🚗How to get there: 1. Self-driving: Navigate to "Yuanqi Temple" and park for free. 2. Public transportation: Changzhi Bus Station → Lucheng District Bus (40 minutes) → Taxi to the scenic spot (about 30 yuan, no bus). 🎫Tickets: Free (no tickets required, but please contact the cultural relics protection officer to open the door). ⏰Opening hours: 9:00–17:00 (no strict restrictions, but it's better to contact the cultural relics protection officer in advance). ✨Three must-sees: 1. Qinglong Pagoda of the Northern Song Dynasty An octagonal seven-story brick pagoda, a "building textbook" of the Song Dynasty! 56 iron bells on the eaves jingle in the wind, and eight iron warriors on the top of the pagoda are chained, said to suppress the "phoenix throat" leading to the Zhanghe River. The shadow of the pagoda and the muddy Zhanghe River are reflected in the sunset. 2. Sutra Pillar and Incense Pavilion of the Tang Dynasty The Tang Dynasty blue stone Sutra Pillar is engraved with the Dharani Sutra, and the bottom of the pavilion is decorated with the reliefs of musicians with fluttering sleeves. The Incense Pavilion has four stone pillars, which hide a seven-character quatrain: "Mist shrouds the pagoda, smoke shrouds the temple, listen to the bell at dusk, listen to the tide at night." 3. Daxiong Hall of the Song Dynasty A pure Song structure with three rooms, a single eaves, and a hipped roof! The eaves pillars rise from the side, and the four-bay single-beam dougong is hidden in the beams. 💡In-depth experience: Gently tap the Tang Dynasty Sutra Pillar and feel the temperature of the stone carving from the Wu Zhou period (said to be related to Wu Zetian); squat at the corner of the wall and observe the wind marks on the pillar base, the traces of repairs from the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties; listen to the cultural relics protection officer tell the legends of "Iron Man's Dream" and "Fairy's Transformation into Phoenix," which are more exciting than "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio." 👀Real experience: Standing in the small temple, the Sutra Pillar of the Tang Dynasty, the Daxiong Hall of the Song Dynasty, and the side hall of the Ming and Qing dynasties are all in sight, which is a slice of solidified time! When the iron bell rings in the wind, it seems to hear the mood of Du Fu's "Deep Mountain Hiding Ancient Temple." There is no tourist noise here, only the sound of the cultural relics protection officer walking with a bunch of keys. Tips: Contact the cultural relics protection officer Li Shifu in advance (private message me for his phone number). Wear Hanfu, wind blowing sleeves + ancient pagoda background, so beautiful, haha.

❤Reasons to recommend: Yuanqi Temple in Changzhi, Shanxi, is located on the top of Phoenix Mountain in Xin'an Village, Xiahuang Township, Changzhi City. It was first built in the sixth year of the Tianbao era of the Tang Dynasty (747 AD) and is an ancient temple with a long history. In the second year of the Yuanyou era of the Northern Song Dynasty (1087 AD), the Great Sage Pagoda was added, becoming an important architectural landscape in the temple. 🌟Highlights: Although the Yuanqi Temple is not large, its overall layout is rigorous. The central axis is the Xiangting Pavilion and the Daxiong Hall, with the Peidian on the east side and the Great Sage Pagoda on the west side. This layout reflects the architectural style of traditional Chinese Buddhist temples, solemn and solemn. 💎Daxiong Hall: Its architectural style has typical Song Dynasty characteristics and is an important example of studying Song Dynasty architecture. Great Sage Pagoda: Also known as the Qinglong Pagoda, it was built in the Northern Song Dynasty and is an outstanding representative of ancient Chinese brick pagodas. 💎Xiangting Pavilion: The Xiangting Pavilion in front of the hall is a relic of the Qing Dynasty. 💎Octagonal bluestone sutra pagoda: The sutra pagoda is engraved with the Dharani Sutra and the inscription of the pagoda temple. The eight sides of the sutra pagoda are carved with the image of a female musician, with exquisite craftsmanship, and it is one of the important cultural relics of Yuanqi Temple. Yuanqi Temple: Free admission! Such a national cultural protection unit can only be free in Shanxi!

The Zhuozhang River Valley in Changzhi, Shanxi Province is the most densely populated area of ​​Five Dynasties-Song and Jin Dynasty buildings in my country. There are 8 national protected buildings in the 40-kilometer stretch on both sides of the river, making it the well-deserved "No. 1 Valley of Ancient Buildings". · 👉Zhuozhang River Valley National Protection Route: Yuanqi Temple - Tiantai Temple - Dayun Temple - Fotou Temple - Chunhua Temple - Huilong Temple - Xiayu Temple - Longmen Temple · 🔻Wonkiji Temple Located on the terrace, there are the Sutra Pillar from the Tang Dynasty, the Main Hall from the late Northern Song Dynasty, and the octagonal seven-story Qinglong Pagoda from the Northern Song Dynasty. The stone tower is an imitation wood structure with huge brackets. 🎫Tickets: None 🔻Tiantai Temple A very beautiful small temple, the dating of which is controversial (it was previously believed to be a Tang Dynasty structure), but it has now been comprehensively determined to be a Five Dynasties and Later Tang Dynasty building. The eaves are obviously upturned, like a flying phoenix. 🎫Ticket price: 10 yuan 🔻Dayun Zen Temple The Amitabha Hall is a textbook-level building from the Later Jin Dynasty during the Five Dynasties (it houses the earliest existing Pu Pai Fang), and there are also murals from the Five Dynasties inside the hall. The Seven Treasures Pagoda in front of the temple dates back to the Later Zhou Dynasty and is very exquisite. 🎫Ticket price: 20 yuan 🔻Buddha Head Temple The mountain behind the temple looks like a Buddha's head, hence the name Buddha Head Temple. The only remaining Song Dynasty Buddhist temple and murals are worth seeing. The cultural relics protection teachers here are the icing on the cake. Their explanations are very good and they gave us a vivid lesson on ancient architecture. 🎫Tickets: None (Explanation fee is 10 yuan per person) 🔻Chunhua Temple Only one main hall from the Jin Dynasty and two stone pagodas from the Song Dynasty remain. The national treasures of the Jin Dynasty are just visible on the roadside. Shanxi is truly full of treasures. 🎫Tickets: None 🔻Huilung Temple A small temple from the Jin Dynasty, which also contains murals from the Qing Dynasty, suspected to be about the Journey to the West. We saw the Western Paradise Sutra, the Rake and the Pig's Ears on the mural. 🎫Tickets: None 🔻Xia Yu Temple The temple is located high on the mountain top, facing the mountain peak in the distance. The pedestal of the Yuan Dynasty platform is very beautiful, and the eye wall is also very interesting. 🎫Tickets: None 🔻Longmen Temple The mountain gate from the Jin Dynasty, the Main Hall + murals from the Northern Song Dynasty, the West Side Hall from the Later Tang Dynasty of the Five Dynasties (the earliest existing building with a gable roof), and the Dipankara Buddha Hall from the Ming Dynasty, which integrates architecture from the Five Dynasties, Song, Jin, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, can be called an ancient architecture museum. 🎫Ticket price: 20 yuan · 🚗Transportation: The scenic spots are far apart, so it is recommended to drive or charter a car. · The Zhuozhang River Valley is home to many hidden treasures. The three preserved buildings from the Five Dynasties are enough to prove the importance of this area in architectural history. There are also so many Northern Song, Jin and Yuan Dynasty buildings, and the land is full of treasures👍. ·

📍Location: Xinan Village, Huangniuti Township, Lucheng City, Changzhi City, Shanxi Province, at the peak of Fenghuang Mountain (a particularly small mountain, next to the village, just two flights of stairs up) 🌈Attraction Features: Yuanqi Temple faces south, with excellent feng shui, and can be seen from afar. The overall architectural layout is very interesting, with a central axis featuring the Xiang Pavilion and the Mahavira Hall, an auxiliary hall on the east side, and the Dasheng Pagoda on the west side. The best-preserved structures we see now are the Mahavira Hall and the Qinglong Pagoda, both typical Song Dynasty structures. The others were rebuilt during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Although the entire Yuanqi Temple was originally built in the Tang Dynasty and the Qinglong Pagoda was built in the Song Dynasty, this pagoda has withstood many years of weathering and still exudes extraordinary charm. Each corner of the pagoda has wind chimes hanging from it, which sound very pleasant when the wind blows. 🚗Travel Tips: We took the high-speed train to Changzhi South Station, rented a car, and then set off from Changzhi South Station. The journey was nearly 60 kilometers and took an hour and a half. 💗Other Tips: There is a long bench in front of the pagoda. Be sure to sit there and daydream for a while, facing the Qinglong Pagoda, with the sound of the wind and the chimes, which is very pleasant and long-lasting.