Zhengding Ancient City + Longxing Temple + Rong Mansion Scenic Spot in Hebei [One Day|Half-Day Scenic Spot Fun Commentary] Local Expert Guide●Live Guide

Bailin Zen Temple:

Located in Zhao County, approximately 4 km from Zhaozhou Bridge, the temple was initially built during the Jian'an era (196-220 AD) of Emperor Xian of Han. Before his journey to India for Buddhist scriptures, Xuanzang studied here under Master Daoshen. Covering an area of 80 acres, it was historically known as Guanyin Temple during ancient times, Yong'an Temple in the Southern Song Dynasty, and Bailin Chan Temple in the Jin Dynasty. Since the Yuan Dynasty, it has been called Bailin Temple.

Rongguo Mansion:

Located in Zhengding, Rongguo Mansion was meticulously designed and constructed in strict accordance with the descriptions in Cao Xueqin's renowned novel "Dream of the Red Chamber" and the architectural standards of China's "Great Qing Code." It stands as one of China's earliest antique-style architectural complexes featuring Ming and Qing dynasty designs, and served as CCTV's first outdoor filming location for historical buildings. Most scenes of the grand TV series "Dream of the Red Chamber" were shot here. The Qing Dynasty-style "Ningrong Street" by Rongguo Mansion's west gate stretches over 200 meters, where pivotal scenes like "Imperial Consort Yuan's Homecoming" and "Qin Keqing's Funeral Procession" from the series were filmed.

Longxing Temple:

Among renowned historical sites, Longxing Temple stands out as a masterpiece. Originally built in 586 AD during the Sui Dynasty, it was later expanded under the personal decree of Emperor Zhao Kuangyin, founder of the Song Dynasty. This majestic and exceptionally well-preserved temple enjoys global acclaim, praised by renowned architect Liang Sicheng as "the foremost Buddhist temple beyond the capital." Its iconic "Reclining Guanyin" wall sculpture was hailed by writer Lu Xun as the "Goddess of Oriental Beauty," while the rotating scripture cabinet (Zhuanlunzang) is recognized by physicists as a classic demonstration of Newtonian mechanics and remains one of China's largest ancient scripture repositories. The temple's Sui-era Longzang Temple Stele represents a pivotal evolution in Chinese calligraphy from Han clerical script to Tang regular script. Other treasures include a towering 22-meter bronze standing Buddha (among China's earliest and tallest) and the cross-shaped Mani Hall—a quintessential example of Song Dynasty architectural craftsmanship.

Zhengding South City Gate:

Located to the south of the county town, it was initially built during the Northern Zhou Dynasty with stone foundations. In the first year of the Tang Dynasty's Baoying era (762 AD), the city was expanded after suffering damage from flooding caused by the Hutuo River. During the 14th year of the Ming Dynasty's Zhengtong era (1449 AD), it was further expanded into an earthen walled city with a circumference of 24 li, standing 3 zhang and 2 chi tall, and featuring a top width of 2 zhang. In the 5th year of the Longqing era (1571 AD), Gu Shou, the magistrate of Zhending County, began converting the earthen walls into brick walls. His successor, Zhou Yingzhong, allocated over 60,000 taels of silver from the government treasury and mobilized laborers from various counties under Zhending Prefecture to complete the project in segments. The construction was finished in the 4th year of the Wanli era (1576 AD). The four city gates were named: Yingxu (East Gate), Changle (South Gate), Zhenyuan (West Gate), and Yong'an (North Gate), each accompanied by a barbican and an outer defensive wall.