Northeast Mountain God Temple ceiling, Jinzhou Beizhen Temple tour guide

China's Five Towns Famous Mountains ⛰️ East Town Yishan (Shandong) ⛰️ South Town Kuaiji Mountain (Zhejiang) ⛰️ West Town Wushan (Shaanxi) ⛰️ North Town Yiwulu Mountain (Liaoning) ⛰️ Central Town Huoshan (Shanxi) The Five Towns and the Five Great Mountains are collectively known as China's ten famous mountains. The Five Great Mountains are for offering sacrifices to heaven, and the Five Towns are for offering sacrifices to earth. They are all places where emperors of past dynasties held their enfeoffment and sacrificial ceremonies. It is said that there is an imperial temple built under each of the Five Towns' mountains, and now the only one preserved seems to be the North Town Temple under Yiwulu Mountain in Jinzhou, Liaoning. 🐲The cleaning lady in the temple said that Jinzhou's North Town Temple is the largest mountain god temple in the entire three northeastern provinces. Emperors of past dynasties had to come here for all big and small matters to offer sacrifices. Emperor Qianlong even had a palace here (which has collapsed, and it is said that it will be rebuilt). A mountain god temple that is over 1400 years old, with five layers of temple buildings and red walls and green tiles, seems not so simple. However, most of the buildings are newly built and renovated. When I smelled the strong scent of paint, I knew that not much of the historical remains were left... 📸Some highlights ✅The stone lions at the entrance: Representing happiness, anger, sorrow, and fear (feels like speculation) ✅Stone steles from the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties: They symbolize identity and are also the last defiance, 56 stone steles, 56 ethnic groups, somewhat coincidentally aligned ✅Ming dynasty colored murals: 32 founding heroes of the Ming dynasty (Xu Da, Tang He, Chang Yuchun...), somewhat reminiscent of the Tang dynasty's Lingyan Pavilion ✅Stone plaque 'North Town Temple': Written by Yan Song during the Ming dynasty's Jiajing era, he was a treacherous official, but that doesn't stop him from being a master calligrapher