Zhen Guo Temple

Zhen Guo Temple is located 15 kilometers northeast of Pingyao County, Shanxi Province, in Hao Dong Village. It was listed as a cultural relic protection unit of Shanxi Province in 1965, a national key cultural relic protection unit in 1988, and was listed as a World Cultural Heritage as an important part of the ancient city of Pingyao in 1997. Zhen Guo Temple, originally named Jing Cheng Temple, was renamed Zhen Guo Temple during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty and has been used ever since. The temple is divided into two courtyards, the front courtyard has the mountain gate, the king's hall and the left and right bell and drum towers, the middle is the main hall also known as the Ten Thousand Buddha Hall, the back courtyard is the Guanyin Hall in the east, the Jizo Hall in the west, each with five rooms, and the Three Buddha Hall in the middle. Zhen Guo Temple, divided into two temples, has a total area of 10892 square meters. On the central axis, there are buildings such as the Heavenly King Hall, Ten Thousand Buddha Hall, and Three Buddha Tower. In the front courtyard, there are bell towers, drum towers, and halls of the Three Spirits, Wealth God, Erlang, and Earth on both sides. In the back courtyard, there are Arhat Hall, Yama Hall and other halls. The Heavenly King Hall, located at the front end of the temple, has four statues of Heavenly Kings, each with a majestic demeanor and full face. The Heavenly King Hall, with a single-eave Xieshan style roof, is a Yuan Dynasty building. On both sides of the Heavenly King Hall, the bell and drum towers stand opposite each other. The bell tower has a iron bell cast in the fifth year of the Golden Dynasty (1145 AD), which is elegant in shape, unique in craftsmanship, and a rare object in Pingyao County. From the inscriptions in the temple, it is known that during the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, the mountain gate, the king's hall, the bell and drum towers were created in the front, and the Three Buddha Tower and the east and west corridor rooms, Guanyin, and Jizo Halls were built in the back.