Fan County Town | Huo Yuan Marsh is covered by Fan like a quilt, with lush vegetation casting a shadowy dome

| Huo Yuan Marsh is covered by Fan like a quilt, with lush vegetation casting a shadowy dome. After visiting the temples around Fan County, each with their own unique style and stunning features, you might have half a day to spare. Since the inter-county buses in Shanxi often stop running in the afternoon, it might be a wonderful experience to stroll through the ancient sites in Fan County Town and step into the daily meals of the people in this small town in northern Shanxi during your trip in Shanxi. Fan County is adjacent to Dai County, and compared to the county town of Dai, which can be called a feast of ancient architecture, Fan County Town may not attract those who visit ancient sites. However, it was precisely because of the lack of information that the author was quite surprised when he first saw the Fan County Drum Tower. The Drum Tower of Fan County is also the most suitable starting point for exploring the ancient sites within the county town. The Drum Tower, with its extraordinary momentum, is almost the tallest building in the old town. It also serves as the Wenchang Pavilion, making it a place where locals pray for blessings. The Drum Tower, built on a brick base, is five bays wide and four trusses deep, with a double-eaved hipped roof. It is introduced in the literature as a Qing Dynasty building, but it has undergone extensive renovations in modern times. It is said to house a large bell from the Jin Dynasty. Although it is less impressive than the Bianjing Tower, the momentum of backing Mount Heng and looking south to Mount Wutai is still breathtaking. To the north of the Drum Tower is the only national protected site in the county town, the Great Buddha Hall of Zhengjue Temple, a national level seven site. It is worth noting that although the cultural protection stele is for the Great Buddha Hall, the plaque hanging on the hall today is for the Pilu Hall. This hall is five bays wide and three bays deep, with a single-eaved hipped roof, a Jin Dynasty relic. However, the overall renovation is very new, and the colorful paintings under the eaves are so stunning that it is hard to believe it is a relic from the Jin Dynasty. It is said that there are also sizable Ming Dynasty murals inside the hall, but the hall is not open to the public, so its appearance is unknown. Not far to the west of Zhengjue Temple, past a hospital with antique stalls at the door, there is a Guan Yue Temple. To the south of the Drum Tower on Yongfeng East Street, there is a God of Wealth Temple. Both temples are not very old and are still places of folk worship for the local people. However, both temples have beast heads above the columns of the main hall, which echo with the San Sheng Temple in Shahe, the Yanqing Temple and Guangji Temple in Wutai, and should be an important style of folk temple architecture in the region outside of Mount Wutai. To the south of the Drum Tower, there is also a Grandma Temple, which often serves as a rehearsal place for drum and gong troupes because of the square in front of the temple. Fan County Town was relocated during the Ming Dynasty Wanli era, so the Daguan Shengzuo stele is preserved at the old city site. Beixiu Park to the north of the town is situated on high ground, and the entire Fan County Town is located in the Hutuo River Valley. Therefore, overlooking the main road Xiangyang Road from here, almost half of the county town under the Wutai Mountain range can be seen at a glance. When the sun sets in the west, the view is extraordinary. Fan County Bus Station has a bus to Lingqiu every morning at 7:30, but it takes more than four hours to travel through the rural roads near Pingxingguan to pick up passengers, which is a waste of time. If you want to include counties like Lingqiu and Laiyuan on the Feihuxing route in your trip, it is best to take the train from Fan County at 10:20 pm.