Sanyuan Chenghuang Temple

　　

　　The Sanyuan Chenghuang Temple, one of the famous Taoist buildings in northwest China, is situated on the Dongdajie Street, Sanyuan County, Shaanxi Province, with a construction area of 13,390 square meters. It has a history of more than 600 years and was first built in 1375 during the early Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). The Sanyuan Chenghuang Temple is one of the ancient architectural complexes of the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911) that are well preserved. The State Council has listed it as one of the cultural relics sites under the national protection.

　　

　　

The architectural complex of the Sanyuan Chenghuang Temple consists of 40 buildings including towers, halls, corridors and pavilions that are arranged on the vertical axis and horizontal axis according to their importance. The craftsmanship is exquisite, the layout is compact, and the buildings are solemn and magnificent. There is a screen wall of over 10 meters high in front of the Temple Gate and two 10-ton iron flagpoles in front of the screen wall. A memorial archway of 12 meters high stands in front of the main entrance, and some traditional auspicious patterns are carved on the archway. The Temple Gate of 15 meters high is located at the north of the archway, and it is also called the Eight-Diagram Suspending Ceiling Gate Without Beam. The gate is supported by 10 columns and carved with Taiji drawings and the symbols of Eight Diagrams. Inside the gate there is a bluestone road of 3 meters wide leading northward along the axis. Entering the Temple Gate, you can see corridors carved with some calligraphic works of ancient celebrities at both the eastern and western sides, the Opera Tower in the north with elaborate artistic design, and the Bell Tower and the Drum Tower of 14.5 meters high each on both sides of the middle courtyard.

　　

　　The main buildings of the Chenghuang Temple consist of the Worship Hall and the Sacrifice Hall, which are 15 meters high as a whole and have a construction area of more than 700 square meters. The 6-meter-high statues of Chenghuang God (the God of the City) and the Four Great Heavenly Kings are enshrined in the Sacrifice Hall, and 20 paintings depicting the Kings of Hell from the Ten Halls and the Hell of 18 Layers are exhibited in the Worship Hall. In addition, the Chenghuang Temple also includes the Paper-Burning Tower, the Western Side Hall, the Eastern Side Hall and the Imperial Sleeping Hall.