Zhuozhang River Valley｜Chunhua Temple hidden in the city

⛩️Chunhua Temple is the smallest and most unique ancient building in the Zhuozhang River Valley. Only one main hall remains and it is located in the middle of the river. On the day I went there, there was a busy market and stalls were lined up on both sides of the road. 🏘️An ancient building suddenly appeared in the market, with no courtyard walls, no mountain gates, just a lonely hall. In front of the hall, two sutra towers stood like candles in a small open space. 🏯According to the county annals, Chunhua Temple was first built during the Kaiyuan period of the Tang Dynasty. It originally had two courtyards, but now only one Buddhist temple remains, which is a relic of the Jin Dynasty. Single-eaved hip roof, tiled roof, and a flat roof. The door of the main hall is not open, but through the mullioned windows one can see some blue geometric painted patterns remaining under the beams and pillars. In front of the hall are two sutra pillars dating back to the third year of Kaibao in the Song Dynasty. They are made of octagonal stone with clear inscriptions. Both the upper and lower parts are shaped like upturned lotus petals, and the bottom part is a circular Sumeru pedestal. The two pagodas are respectively inscribed with the "Sutra of the Supreme Dharani" and the "Diamond Sutra". They were carved in the third year of Kaibao in the Northern Song Dynasty (970) and were written by Daozhen, the abbot of the Zen temple. The handwriting is clearly legible. On the back wall of the main hall there is a stone tablet erected by Abbot Guangmiao during the Dading period, with the words "Visiting Longmen and returning to Chunhua Temple" on it. It can be seen that Chunhua Temple was still of a certain scale at that time and people could stay overnight. 📍Address: Chunhua Temple, Yanggao Village, Gaoxiang, Pingshun County, Changzhi City, Shanxi Province 🎫Tickets: Free 🈺Opening hours: Not open 🅿️No, it is recommended to park at the bridge head outside the alley 🏆 The 5th batch of national key cultural relics protection units