[2025 Gaoping Attraction] Travel Guide for Youxian Temple (Updated May)

| Youxian Mountain came before Youxian Temple. Youxian Temple was first built in the first year of the Chunhua period of the Northern Song Dynasty (990 AD) and was later destroyed by war. It was rebuilt during the Jin, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties. There is a mythological story in the "Gaoping County Annals" of the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty. It is said that in ancient times there was an immortal, surnamed Li, named Tongmin, and called Youxian. He first studied here, then traveled here, and finally left his family and lived in seclusion in the western mountains. He died at the age of over 100 without illness, so people called this mountain Youxian Mountain. The temple is named after the mountain. Address: Northeast of Zaili Village, Hexi Town, Gaoping City, Jincheng City, Shanxi Province. No ticket required

Youxian Temple is located on Niu Mountain, about 1.5 kilometers northeast of Zaili Village, Hexi Town, Gaoping City, Jincheng City, Shanxi Province. Youxian Temple was built in the first year of Chunhua in the Northern Song Dynasty (990 AD) and was later destroyed by war. From 2005 to 2007, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage invested 4.5 million yuan and the Gaoping Municipal People's Government invested 1 million yuan to carry out overall maintenance. On June 25, 2001, Youxian Temple was announced by the State Council of the People's Republic of China as the fifth batch of national key cultural relics protection units. Erlang Temple is located in Wangbao Village, Sizhuang Town, Gaoping City, Shanxi Province. The construction date is unknown. The stage of Erlang Temple was built in the 23rd year of Jin Dading (1183). The stage in Erlang Temple is the earliest stage discovered in China so far, pushing the architectural example of Chinese opera stage back to the 23rd year of the Jin Dynasty (1183 AD), and is of great significance in history, culture and art. In 2002, the words "the 23rd year of Dading" were discovered on the stone railings at the base of the Erlang Temple stage, which confirmed that the Erlang Temple stage was from the Jin Dynasty. It is the oldest existing stage in China and also one of the rare Jin Dynasty stages in China. On May 25, 2006, Erlang Temple was announced by the State Council of the People's Republic of China as the sixth batch of national key cultural relics protection units. Youxian Temple Wangbaoerlang Temple

Who would have thought that Jincheng in Shanxi has 72 national cultural relics protection units! We spent two and a half days and visited 15 national cultural relics protection units to get a rough idea of the essence of Jincheng's national cultural relics protection units. The word "impressive" was always on our lips, and we were tired of saying it! Without further ado, let's share our itinerary and travel tips~ · 📍 Jincheng 2~3-day National Cultural Relics Protection Unit Essence Route: Day 1: Zezhou Dai Temple - Xiaonancun Erxian Temple - Qinglian Temple - Yuhuang Temple - Fucheng Guandi Temple - Xilimen Erxian Temple - Chongming Temple Day 2: Youxian Temple - Xianweng Temple - Wangbao Erlang Temple - Dinglin Temple - Gaoping Iron Buddha Temple - Xixi Erxian Temple - Kaihua Temple Day 3: Yangtoushan Grottoes - Go to Changzhi (PS. We drove ourselves, but our schedule was quite tight. If you're worried about not having enough time, you can adjust it.) · Here are some of our favorites~ 🔻Xiaonancun Erxian Temple The exquisite and intricate wooden palace and pavilion of the Northern Song Dynasty are breathtaking and leave you speechless. The large wooden structure is also impressive. 🔻Qinglian Temple Upper Temple: The Buddha and Bodhisattva in the Sakyamuni Hall and the Sixteen Arhats in the Luohan Hall are all masterpieces of Northern Song Dynasty colored sculptures. Lower Temple: The Tang Dynasty sculptures are simple and ancient, and the Song Dynasty proportions are perfect. 🔻Yuhuang Temple Finally saw the Twenty-Eight Constellations! Yuhuang Temple is very popular and has many visitors. There are also many exquisite colored sculptures, Chengtang Hall, Yuhuang Hall, Thirteen Yao Stars, Twelve Yuanchen... All open, don't miss it😭. 🔻Chongming Temple Originally closed, thanks to the cultural relics protection officer who came back to open the door. The moment the door opened, the oldest surviving Northern Song Dynasty wooden structure came into view, with its deep eaves and Tang Dynasty style, so moving that I almost cried! 🔻Xianweng Temple Coming to Zhang Guolao Temple, I saw the murals on the walls, which are well preserved. The "Tang Xuanzong Taishan Fengchan Tu" is a masterpiece. 🔻Gaoping Iron Buddha Temple It's too 🔥, you can't make an appointment online, but you can queue up on the spot to get a number. The Twenty-Four Devas are so beautiful, I queued up several times and finally saw enough. I came out and bought iron plate shabu-shabu bean skin, sat under the tree and watched the Iron Buddha Temple eat bean skin, which felt like a time travel. 🔻Kaihua Temple The Mahavira Hall is a Northern Song Dynasty building, and the Northern Song Dynasty murals in the hall are colorful and known as the "清明上河图" of murals. The cultural relics protection officer was very enthusiastic. 🔻Yangtoushan Grottoes Highly recommended! The Northern Dynasty grottoes scattered in the mountains are very impressive. The process of finding the grottoes is also very interesting. 🚗Transportation: Self-driving or chartered car is recommended. 🛌Accommodation: It is recommended to stay in Jincheng and Gaoping City. 🥘Food: Lige Zha is delicious! It's made with vermicelli, meat, and cabbage, and it's especially fragrant. Meatball instant noodles are also very fragrant, recommended. · 👇Tips: Jincheng is too real, all of the above cultural relics protection units are free to visit (except Dinglin Temple, which requires a ticket to the Daling Mountain Scenic Area). Cultural relics protection work is not easy, so it is recommended to make a donation.

In a quiet place east of Zaili Village, Hexi Town, Gaoping, Jincheng, there is a hidden treasure A temple that is a masterpiece of Song and Jin Dynasty wooden architecture_Youxian Temple. In 2001, Youxian Temple was listed as the fifth batch of national key cultural relics protection units. It spirals along the road. At the end of the road, Youxian Temple is quietly located in In the mountain col. The Poetry of Immortals is not big. It only contains an old man who is looking after the temple. The old man looks very kind and does not speak too much. 1⃣️In the Tang Dynasty, there was a man named Li Tongmin, also known as Youxian, whose ancestral home was Gaoping Xianjing. He was a member of the Li clan of the Tang Dynasty. When he was young, he failed in the Jinshi examination many times and lived in seclusion in the Immortal Mountains to learn the art of Bigu. He never traveled to the city and sat on a futon every day. He died at the age of more than 100 years old. The strange thing is that someone saw him again in Wangwu Mountain later. He looked like an immortal. So it was said that Li Tongmin had turned into an immortal and left. Therefore, the mountain was named Youxian Mountain, the inside was Youxianfang, and the temple was named Youxian Temple. According to a stone tablet in the temple, it is exactly the same as the legend. Youxian Temple was probably founded during the Dali Period of the Tang Dynasty, and a new temple was built on the original site during the Chunhua Period of the Song Dynasty. 2⃣️As soon as you enter the third courtyard of Youxian Temple, there is a grand and magnificent palace in the middle of the front courtyard. It has thick walls, strong beams, and majestic brackets under the eaves. This is Pilu Hall, commonly known as the front hall. On the top of the mountain with a single eaves, Pilu Hall was built in the Song Dynasty and was built in the first year of Chunhua in the Northern Song Dynasty. It is three rooms deep, with gentle lifting and folding, and far-reaching eaves. Under the eaves, there are five pavilions with pillars and dougongs, and they are made with double copies. The tweening dougong is made in the form of single copying and lowering, and the high position is in the bamboo batching style. The main head is almost the same as the high one. This form can be seen in the Manjusri Hall of Foguang Temple in Wutai Mountain and the Notre Dame Hall of Jinci Temple. However, it is more than a hundred years later than the front hall of Youxian Temple, so it can be seen that it is the precedent of this form. 3⃣️From both sides of Pilu Hall to the middle courtyard, on the front is the Hall of Three Buddhas, commonly known as the Middle Hall. The gable-shaped roof, the front eaves and the corridors, and the dougong are all carefully designed for the five-storey building. The beams in the nave are regular. The beam frame structure has four rafters and three columns, retaining the style of the Jin Dynasty. In addition, up the stairs from the back door of the Three Buddhas Hall, there are seven arched cave dwellings built on the Buddhist platform in a row of the Seven Buddhas Hall of the Yuan Dynasty. Traditional Chinese wooden structures are "based on load-bearing beams and columns and brackets and eaves. They first emerged in the Qin and Han Dynasties, flourished in the Tang and Song Dynasties, and stagnated in the Ming and Qing Dynasties." The wooden structures of the Song Dynasty that remain in Youxian Temple undoubtedly provide the best information for the study of ancient Chinese architecture. Intuitive information. Youxian Temple Free and self-driving required Address: The foothills of Youxian Mountain, 10 kilometers south of Gaoping City, Jincheng City, Shanxi Province