Jade Towers and Jade Palaces, Heavenly Abode Hidden in the Walls｜Erxian Temple in Xiaonan Village, Jincheng, Southeastern Shanxi

【Jinshan Jinmei·Jincheng·Jade Towers and Jade Palaces, Heavenly Abode Hidden in the Walls】As mentioned earlier, there are many Erxian Temples in the southeastern Shanxi region, which is a unique local belief. There are more than 50 existing Erxian Temples, seven of which are listed as national protected sites. The Xixi Erxian Temple visited a few days ago is one of them, and today we are going to visit the ancestor of the existing Erxian Temples, the Erxian Temple in Xiaonan Village, a small village in the southern part of Jincheng. This Erxian Temple is pitifully small, but it preserves a Song Dynasty main hall and a Northern Song Dynasty small wooden structure—Heavenly Palace Pavilion. Undoubtedly, the biggest highlight is this Heavenly Palace Pavilion, which is over 900 years old, exquisitely crafted, and towering. The corridor bridge connects the halls on both sides like a rainbow, magnificent and beautiful. The ancients perfectly showcased their imagination of the heavenly palace with such delicate small wooden structures. There are also many Song Dynasty colored sculptures inside the hall (some were stolen in earlier years), which are worth savoring. Tips: Northern Song Dynasty small wooden structure—Heavenly Palace Pavilion: The "Erxian Temple" from the Song, Jin, and Yuan periods is unique to the southeastern Shanxi region. Among them, the Erxian Temple in Xiaonan Village not only has the earliest preserved Erxian statues (Song Dynasty) in the southeastern Shanxi region but also the rare existing Song Dynasty small wooden structure "Heavenly Palace Pavilion" in China. The Heavenly Palace Pavilion in the main hall consists of four individual buildings and a single-arched corridor bridge, all with hipped roofs. The dougong (bracket sets), ridge tiles, and beast heads are all made of wood, with six projecting dougongs. This type of dougong is unique among existing Song Dynasty buildings in China, exquisitely beautiful. 📝Note tips: No admission fee. If you see the cultural relics protection officer, give him some hard-earned money.