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Popular Best Things to Do in Hongtong [2025]

I was in a great mood, visiting temples to experience the charm of Buddhist culture. But then my husband gave me a huge fight because of my terrible photography skills, and we almost broke up, which really ruined my mood. Sometimes, being speechless can happen in an instant… Anyway, I highly recommend everyone visit Guang Sheng Temple! 👀

I was in a great mood, visiting temples to experience the charm of Buddhist culture. But then my husband gave me a huge fight because of my terrible photography skills, and we almost broke up, which really ruined my mood. Sometimes, being speechless can happen in an instant&hellip; Anyway, I highly recommend everyone visit Guang Sheng Temple! 👀

The Flying Rainbow Pagoda in Guangsheng Temple, with its dazzling glazed tiles, captures the essence of Buddhism and the human world on its shimmering surface; the Water Mother Temple, with its vibrant murals, preserves the smoke and faith of the Yuan Dynasty on its mottled walls. The two complement each other, together writing a timeless chapter in the history of Shanxi&#39;s ancient architecture, making it &quot;visible, appreciable, and tangible.&quot;

Guangsheng Temple is rich in history and highly recommended. It&#39;s definitely worth a visit. I consider it the most worthwhile attraction in Hongdong County. Feihong Pagoda, the world&#39;s tallest glazed pagoda, boasts a rich variety of sculptures, each incredibly lifelike and exquisitely crafted. On October 5th, Hongdong County experienced a day of rain starting at 9:30 a.m., but fortunately, the rain was intermittent, so it didn&#39;t significantly impact our visit. Viewing the glazed pagoda amidst the mist and rain, with its intermittent clarity and blurriness, was quite captivating. Guangsheng Temple consists of a visitor center, an upper temple, and a lower temple. The visitor center also houses an art gallery featuring digitally restored murals, which is currently free to visit (buy a Guangsheng Temple ticket and receive a free admission to the gallery). A tour of the entire area takes about four hours. The upper temple primarily focuses on the glazed pagoda; the other temples are relatively small and not very time-consuming. While the lower temple doesn&#39;t have a glazed pagoda, it is larger, with numerous temples to see and an exhibition on the restoration of stolen murals, so it&#39;s more time-consuming. The art gallery at the visitor center can be visited on the way back. It&#39;s not large and takes no more than half an hour to complete. My impression of the scenic area was that it was well-planned, well-constructed, orderly, and efficient. This is highly commendable. The road leading to the scenic area is exceptionally well-maintained. Although it has a speed limit, it&#39;s very smooth. Without large vehicles, the wide road minimizes traffic and makes driving easy. During the National Day holiday, the parking lot was packed with cars, so at least four attendants were present, allowing for simultaneous parking, which was very efficient. The parking fee is 10 yuan per trip, and receipts are provided, which is very respectful. After entering the scenic area, a sightseeing bus takes you from the visitor center to the upper temple, then to the lower temple, and back to the visitor center. Tickets for the sightseeing bus must be purchased separately: 10 yuan for the visitor center to the upper temple, 10 yuan for the upper temple to the lower temple, and free for the lower temple to the visitor center. Since the journey is short, the bus ride is comparable to the long wait. If you prefer to avoid waiting in line or are physically fit, you can walk back to the visitor center on your own. Ticket purchase options are flexible: you can purchase both tours or just one. To save energy and time, I recommend taking the sightseeing bus for both parts of the tour. The route and fees are clearly marked on the signage, so there&#39;s no need to ask, and there&#39;s no need to argue. The scenic area only charges the entrance fee, and visitors are solely responsible for paying and queuing for the bus, saving both parties energy and effort. First, visit the Upper Temple, then wait for the bus from the pick-up point to the Lower Temple. After exploring the Lower Temple, take the bus back to the visitor center from the waiting point, then visit the art museum, and conclude the tour. The drop-off and pick-up points are clearly marked. Visitors simply queue in an orderly manner, and while there&#39;s a wait, the buses arrive quickly, so the wait is rarely long. Free incense is also available at both the Upper and Lower Temples. The service is truly attentive. The entire scenic area exudes a sense of order and efficiency.

Feihong Pagoda of Guangsheng Temple in Shanxi
It is one of the four famous pagodas in China (Songyue Temple Pagoda in Dengfeng, Henan, Qianxun Pagoda in Dali, Yunnan, Sakyamuni Pagoda in Yingxian, Shanxi, and Feihong Pagoda in Hongdong, Shanxi). What you see now is the glazed pagoda rebuilt in the Ming Dynasty. It is colorful and gorgeous in style. It is 47.31 meters high, 13 floors in an octagonal shape, and is inlaid with yellow, green, and blue tri-color glazed components throughout. It is known as the &quot;world&#39;s tallest colorful glazed pagoda&quot;.
The body of the pagoda is decorated with Buddha statues, Bodhisattvas, Hercules, dragons and phoenixes, etc. It is colorful in the sun, like a rainbow, so it is called &quot;Feihong Pagoda&quot;.
When I went to Guangsheng Temple today, there was a halo, like the Buddha&#39;s light shining everywhere, bringing us good luck.

Yuan Dynasty murals in the Water God Temple of Guangsheng Temple
The Mingyingwang Hall of the Water God Temple preserves 190 square meters of Yuan Dynasty murals, which are mainly about praying for rain, rainmaking, and paying tribute to gods. It is the only Yuan Dynasty mural in my country that is not based on Buddhism and Taoism.
Among them, &quot;Yuan Zaju Picture&quot; is the only large-scale Yuan Dynasty drama mural discovered so far, showing the scenes of Yuan Dynasty opera performances.
The murals of the Water God Temple are colorful and the characters are vivid. They are important historical materials for studying the social life of the Yuan Dynasty.

In short, Guangsheng Temple is a temple worth checking in.

- Feihong Tower: It is the landmark building of Guangsheng Temple. This Yuan Dynasty glazed pagoda shines in the sun. The tower body is colorful and is inlaid with glazed ornaments inside and outside, like a rainbow spanning ancient and modern times. Each piece of glazed seems to be telling an ancient story.

- The Great Hall of the Upper Temple: The Buddha statues in the hall are solemn, the murals are exquisite, and they carry a profound historical culture, which makes people indulge in the tranquility and solemnity.

- The murals of the Water God Temple: The murals here are a valuable database for studying ancient Chinese drama and folk customs. They vividly show the social life scenes of the Yuan Dynasty and can be called living historical textbooks.

- Xia Temple and Huoquan: Strolling in the Xia Temple, surrounded by towering ancient trees and listening to the gurgling water of Huoquan, it can cleanse the dust of the soul and is a good place for meditation.

The environment is beautiful. I brought my child here on the weekend and hired a tour guide who explained things very well and was quite professional. The service was excellent and attentive; they even helped me and my child take photos. The staff inside were also very friendly. I would recommend it to my friends!

Yesterday, I visited the Big Locust Tree with my family. The wonderful performances captivated us, and I was truly excited to discover the origin of my surname! It&#39;s a relatively uncommon surname, rarely seen in other places. The cultural and creative products inside were beautiful; it took me ages to choose just a few. The food was delicious and affordable, and the free, fun rides made every moment filled with joy, as if I had returned to the innocent days of childhood. I wholeheartedly recommend this joyful place.

The performances at the Big Locust Tree Tourist Area are exceptionally wonderful, the environment is exceptionally beautiful, the ancestral worship site is exceptionally clean, and the service is very attentive. I highly recommend everyone to experience the immigrant carpentry ceremony; it&#39;s truly a memorable experience.

Although our ancestors are far away, we must be sincere in offering sacrifices to them; although our descendants are foolish, we must read the scriptures.
After listening to the stories of &quot;Big Sophora Tree&quot; and &quot;Old Stork&#39;s Nest&quot; for decades, I finally came here to trace my roots and pay tribute to my ancestors.
The performance of the &quot;old family&quot; in the cold wind is very moving. Perhaps we will never be able to fully answer the three philosophical questions that hit our souls, such as &quot;Where do I come from?&quot;, in our entire lives. On the road of exploration, the inheritance of sparks and the relay from generation to generation may be the best answer for this nation at present.

Hongdong Big Sophora Tree Root-Seeking and Ancestor-Worshiping Park is the only folk worshipping holy place in the country with the theme of &quot;seeking roots&quot; and &quot;worshipping ancestors&quot;. The scenic area is divided into four major theme areas: &quot;Immigration Historic Area&quot;, &quot;Ancestor-Worshiping Activity Area&quot;, &quot;Folk Customs Tour Area&quot; and &quot;Fenhe Ecological Area&quot;. In addition, there will be live performances at different time periods.
The Big Sophora Tree Root-Seeking and Ancestor-Worshiping Park is located next to Guangji Temple, about 2 kilometers northwest of Hongdong County, Shanxi Province. It is a nationally famous Ming Dynasty migration site and a holy place for hundreds of millions of descendants of the Big Sophora Tree at home and abroad to seek roots and worship their ancestors. &quot;Ask me where my ancestors are, the Big Sophora Tree in Hongdong, Shanxi.&quot;

Popular Best Things to Do in Hongtong [2025]

Guangsheng Temple

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