Chongshan Temple

Chongshan Temple

Chongshan Temple is a cultural relic protection unit of Yingkou City.

Chongshan Temple is located in Liubao Village, Liangtun Town, Gaizhou City. It is also known as Qingmiao Chongshan Temple. The temple is about one kilometer west of Qipan Ridge and backed by Miaohou Mountain to the north. It sits on a flat terrace at the foot of the mountain, oriented 50 degrees southeast.

Originally a two-story main hall, only the rear hall remains today. The architectural style is that of a Qing Dynasty wooden structure with a small-scale design, featuring a flush gable roof covered with green tiles and a five-ridged style. The rear hall is three bays wide and one bay deep, with the central bay measuring 2.55 meters wide, the side bays each 1.90 meters wide, and the depth being 5.75 meters. There are four eave columns with lotus-shaped bases, eight golden columns, and 22 eave rafters. The main beam extends 0.55 meters beyond the architrave, while the flying rafters extend 0.28 meters beyond the eave rafters. The rafters, architraves, and decorative panels feature colorful paintings of dragons playing with pearls, lions, qilins, and floral patterns. The spandrel brackets are no longer present. The distance between the eave columns and the golden columns is 0.80 meters, with through ties and through beams in between. The temple door also has painted decorations, and there is a double-step beam between the third and fourth purlins. Spanning the central bay above the third and fourth purlins is a Buddhist shrine, which is a wooden, colorfully painted and carved structure divided into three sections, measuring 2.25 meters in length and 0.74 meters in width. The rear mountain wall features a torii-style back door.

There are 20 well-preserved murals in the interior. The eastern mountain wall has 8 murals, including one triangular landscape and figure painting each at the two sloping ridges of the gable, below which there is a rectangular horizontal landscape and figure painting measuring 2.70 meters in length and 0.55 meters in width, flanked by flower-and-bird paintings — two on the south and one on the north. In front of the golden column on the eastern mountain wall, there is a large mural depicting a scene from the Investiture of the Gods, measuring 3.50 meters in length and 1.75 meters in width, while behind the golden column there is a mural of two guardian warriors. The western mountain wall mirrors the eastern wall with symmetrical and identical murals. Each features figures. On both sides of the back door on the northern wall, there are murals depicting scenes from the Investiture of the Gods, each measuring 1.70 meters in length and 1.30 meters in width, below which there are landscape paintings, each 1.70 meters in length and 0.40 meters in width.

The exterior roof features a double-sloped green-tiled roof with five ridges. The front and back of the main ridge are adorned with carved dragons, separated by carved floral motifs. The dragons are 0.50 meters long and 0.15 meters wide, while the flowers are 0.40 meters long and 0.20 meters wide. At both ends are chi dragons (ridge beasts), beneath which are projecting mountain-wall-mounted back creatures (the one on the east is missing). At the top front and back of both eastern and western hip ridges are waist creatures, each with four running beasts beneath them (now missing). The base of the gable walls features stone slab steps, atop which are corner column stones with stone string courses. The eave overhangs are fitted with bargeboards (including 37 bargeboard heads, 37 pieces in total). Thirty-nine roof tiles form a row of drainage tiles. The wall is built with granite stone bases, with lower line bricks transitioning to upper green bricks, bonded with white lime.

The architectural style of Chongshan Temple reflects ethnic characteristics and belongs to China’s ancient large wooden frame structures. From the overall form to each component, it embodies meticulous design and artistic craftsmanship, achieving a perfect unity of architectural artistry. The carpentry work is finely detailed, with delicate wood carvings exuding a unique charm; the painting work demonstrates exceptional artistry, with smooth lines, rigorous composition, and fresh tones. Immortal birds and beasts leap vividly off the walls, fully showcasing the wisdom and exquisite craftsmanship of our ancestors.

Chongshan Temple was established in the Jiayin year of the Jiaqing reign during the Qing Dynasty (1809), and was later renovated in the third year of the Daoguang reign (1823) and the eighth year of the Republic of China (1919).

In 1983, Chongshan Temple was designated as a county-level cultural relic protection unit. In 1984, the Yingkou Municipal People's Government (Ying Zheng Fa [1984] No. 108) announced it as a municipal-level cultural relic protection unit. The scope of cultural relic protection and the construction control zone announced by the Yingkou Municipal People's Government (Ying Zheng Fa [1990] No. 38) are: the area within 10 meters around the temple is the protected zone; an additional 60 meters beyond the protected zone is designated as Class I construction control zone.

Source: Municipal Culture, Sports, News, and Broadcasting Bureau Contributor: Dong Wenjie

Liangtun Town: A township under the jurisdiction of Gaizhou City. Established as a township in 1958, restructured as a commune in 1959, and reinstated as a township in 1983. Located in the eastern part of the city, 33 kilometers from the municipal government, covering an area of 124 square kilometers with a population of 21,000. The Zhuanglin Highway passes through the town. It administers 15 village committees: Dazhagou, Yangcun, Fuyu, Dongfeng, Songcun, Xiaocaoyu, Yuejin, Liangtun, Tiantun, Laoguling, Jiupanling, Dongsheng, Mengdian, Suntun, and Licun. Township enterprises include factories for hydraulic pipe fittings, chemicals, paints, woodworking, and agricultural machinery. The main agricultural products are sorghum, beans, and corn, with specialties including apples and silkworm cocoons. ... Detailed information about Liangtun Town++