China's Oldest Surviving Royal Ancestral Temple | Jinci Temple in Taiyuan

Jinci Temple is China's oldest surviving classical ancestral temple garden complex. It currently houses 98 buildings over 300 years old, 110 statues, 300 stone tablets, and 37 cast art pieces. It exemplifies the perfect combination of solemn, magnificent ancestral worship architecture with natural landscape beauty. Jinci Temple covers 10 hectares and features nearly 100 ancient structures including ancestral halls, palaces, temples, and Taoist shrines from the Song, Jin, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties. With its halls, pavilions, towers, galleries, bridges, and terraces, it truly deserves to be called a museum of ancient architecture. The central axis layout is particularly distinctive. Passing through the memorial archway, three bridges and the main gate, visitors proceed via the Water Mirror Terrace, Huixian Bridge, Golden Man Terrace, Duiyue Archway, Bell and Drum Tower, Offering Hall, and Flying Bridge over Fish Pond to reach the Sacred Mother Hall, with all main buildings arranged along a single axis. The three architectural wonders of Jinci: Sacred Mother Hall, wooden dragon carvings, and the Flying Bridge over Fish Pond. The three treasures of Jinci: Zhou Dynasty cypress, Tang Dynasty sophora tree, and the Nanlaoquan Spring. Admission to Jinci Temple is 80 yuan per person, with guided tours available for 190 yuan. Walking is recommended.