Tiantai Temple in Pingshun County, Changzhi City, Shanxi Province, is a national key cultural relics protection unit (third batch). It is a solitary wooden structure dating from the late Tang/Five Dynasties period and a gem of ancient architecture in the Zhuozhang River Valley. Located on a solitary altar-shaped platform in Wangqu Village, Beidanche Township, Pingshun County, Changzhi City, Shanxi Province, it was first built in the fourth year of the Tianyou reign of the Tang Dynasty (907 AD). It was listed as a national key cultural relics protection unit in 1988. Currently, only the Amitabha Hall (a solitary hall on a high platform) and a Tang Dynasty tortoise-shaped stele with dragon heads remain; the rest are missing. Once considered a Tang Dynasty structure, it is now generally classified by scholars as an early Five Dynasties wooden structure, a rare ancient temple remnant of the Tiantai school.
Must-see ancient building highlights:
1. Amitabha Hall: Three bays wide and four rafters deep, with a nearly square floor plan; single-eave hip roof with deep eaves; four-rafter purlins and two columns extending to the eaves, a fully exposed structure; column-head brackets (single-tiered four-puzuo), no purlins, and the lintel corners do not protrude, exuding a strong Tang Dynasty style; 1-meter-high stone foundation with tiger-skin wall retaining wall;
2. Tang Dynasty Stele: Tortoise-shaped base and dragon-head, the characters are blurred, serving as important evidence for dating;
3. Wing-shaped structure: Gentle curves, typical of early wooden structures; reinforced during restoration, preserving the original charm.