Xi'an Graduate Student's Weekend Yuncheng Ancient Architecture Tour - Guide

A solo trip on a weekend in Spring 2025 As the prefecture-level city with the most national cultural relics protection units, Yuncheng is definitely worth visiting. Day 1: Xi'an → Yuncheng → Wanrong → Yongji → Ruicheng 📍Wanrong Dongyue Temple - Feiyun Tower p1p2 After getting off the high-speed train and picking up the car at noon, head straight to Wanrong Feiyun Tower. Arrived at 13:00. Feiyun Tower was built in the Ming Dynasty and renovated in the Qing Dynasty. It has three stories, four eaves, and a cross-hipped gable roof. Its rich silhouette resembles clouds embracing it. It is known as the "First Wooden Tower of China" and can rival the Wooden Pagoda of Yingxian County. 📍Wanrong Jiwang Temple p3 Arrived at 14:00. Only the main hall and a Qing Dynasty opera stage remain in the temple. The main hall is a single-eaved hip-and-gable roof building, a rare example from the Northern Song Dynasty. The dougong brackets directly support the deep and tall eaves. Its form is ancient. Compared to the complexity of Feiyun Tower, this place is so empty that only the structure itself remains, giving a sense of powerful simplicity. 📍Houtu Temple - Qiufeng Tower p4-p6 Arrived at 15:00. The tower body is embedded in a high platform, with a neat structure. It is the materialized memory of Emperor Wu of Han's poem "Autumn winds rise, white clouds fly". Climbing the tower offers a distant view of the confluence of the Fen River and Yellow River and this fertile land. However, it is no longer accessible today. 📍Yellow River Kaiyuan Iron Oxen p7 Following Yellow River No. 1 Tourist Highway south, arrived at 16:50. The Yellow River Grand Iron Oxen were the anchor pillars for the Pujin Ferry pontoon bridge, consuming 80% of the iron produced during the Kaiyuan era of the prosperous Tang Dynasty. Afterward, I went to Guanque Tower, but since it's not an ancient building, I won't elaborate further. Day 2: Ruicheng → Jiezhou → Yuncheng → Xi'an 📍Ruicheng Chenghuang Temple p8 At 8:00 AM, I first visited Ruicheng Chenghuang Temple. The temple integrates architecture from the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, making it a top-tier example in any province outside of Shanxi. 📍Ruicheng Yongle Palace p8-p12 Arrived at 9:00. Yongle Palace is the ancestral temple of the Quanzhen School of Taoism from the Yuan Dynasty. The Sanqing Hall, Chunyang Hall, and Chongyang Hall on the central axis feature gently curving roofs and grand dougong brackets, retaining the style of the Song and Jin dynasties. Its true soul lies in the Yuan Dynasty murals "Chaoyuan Tu" (Homage to the Primordial) inside the Sanqing Hall, which was the most breathtaking stop on the trip. Nearly three hundred immortals pay homage to the Primordial Celestial Venerable, with flowing and elegant lines, and a magnificent, sweeping momentum, conveying a solemn sense of decay. 📍Guangrenwang Temple p13 Arrived at 10:00. One of the three and a half existing Tang Dynasty structures in China. It features a single-eaved hipped-gable roof, a low hall, simple and large dougong brackets, and no ceiling inside, making the beam structure clear at a glance. It is so plain it's almost clumsy, exuding a steady confidence from the Tang Dynasty. 📍Jiezhou Guandi Temple, Changping Guandi Ancestral Temple p14-p17 Afterward, I crossed the Zhongtiao Mountains and arrived at Jiezhou Guandi Temple at 11:20. This is the "Ancestor of Martial Temples," with a layout resembling an imperial palace, glazed tile roofs, carved beams, and painted rafters, showcasing the supreme status of Guan Yu as a martial saint. 📍Yuncheng Salt Lake, Yuncheng Museum p18 Arrived at Yuncheng Salt Lake at 14:10. Yuncheng prospered because of the salt lake. The lake water exhibits different colors due to algae, but the weather that day wasn't good enough to see very distinct colors. Afterward, I visited the Yuncheng Museum, which houses a 1:1 replica of the "Chaoyuan Tu" mural, making up for the regret of not being able to take photos in the Sanqing Hall. Additionally, the Xi'an Annual Pass generally includes admission to all the above scenic spots.