The ancient architectural treasures of the Zhuo Zhang River Valley: Changzhi Longmen Temple and Dayun Temple

Originating from the Taihang Mountains, the Zhuo Zhang River Valley conceals numerous pristine ancient architectural treasures. The first stop on the 'land of cultural relics in Shanxi' tour to visit ancient sites brings us to this somewhat magical temple, the Longmen Temple located in Pingshun County, Changzhi City, Shanxi Province. Although small in scale, Longmen Temple has a complete layout, combining the Western Side Hall (Five Dynasties), the Mahavira Hall (Song), the Heavenly King Hall (Jin), the Lamp-Burning Buddha Hall (Yuan), the Eastern Side Hall (Ming), and the East-West Axis Buildings (Qing) from six dynasties into one temple, earning it the reputation of 'China's Ancient Architecture Museum'. (Fourth batch of national key cultural relics protection units, ticket price: 20 yuan) Founded in the third year of Tianfu during the Later Jin of the Five Dynasties (938 AD), Dayun Temple is a 33-kilometer drive from Longmen Temple. Its main attraction is the thousand-year-old Amitabha Hall, one of the only five remaining Five Dynasties wooden structures in the country. The 21 square meters of murals inside the hall are the only surviving temple murals from the Five Dynasties period in China, making them extremely precious. When the caretaker of Dayun Temple opened the doors of the Amitabha Hall, the complex wooden structure and the Five Dynasties murals absolutely, absolutely, absolutely dazzled me, leaving me in awe of the exquisite craftsmanship of the ancient artisans!!! (Third batch of national key cultural relics protection units, ticket price: 20 yuan)