Beizhen Temple

Beizhen Temple

Beizhen Temple is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Beizhen Temple is located on a hillside 2.5 kilometers west of Beizhen County in Liaoning Province.

Beizhen Temple is the mountain god temple of Mount Yiwulv, with shrines built at the foot of the mountain dating back to the Jin Dynasty. According to inscriptions on stelae, the current Beizhen Temple was largely renovated and expanded in the 19th year of the Yongle era (1421) and the 8th year of the Hongzhi era (1495) during the Ming Dynasty.

Beizhen Temple is grand in scale, measuring 109 meters wide from east to west and 240 meters long from north to south. The structures within the temple are arranged in terraces along the mountainside from the base to the summit. The main buildings include the Imperial Incense Hall, the Main Hall, the Changing Hall, the Inner Incense Hall, and the Sleeping Hall—five major halls built on a H-shaped high platform. In front of these five halls are structures such as a stone memorial archway, the Mountain Gate, the Divine Horse Gate, and the Bell and Drum Towers, while behind them are scenic spots like the Immortal Rock and the Emerald Cloud Screen.

The Imperial Incense Hall has five rooms and is used to display imperial calligraphy from the court and incense, candles, and offerings for royal ceremonies. Behind the Imperial Incense Hall is the Main Hall, which serves as the symmetrical center of the temple’s overall architecture and is also the largest building in the temple. The hall is 23.4 meters wide, spanning seven bays in width and five bays in depth, and is the venue for grand sacrificial ceremonies. The Main Hall features a hip-and-gable wooden frame structure, with walls made of blue bricks, a green-glazed tile roof, carved beams and painted rafters, and red pillars and purlins. The walls are adorned with portraits of 32 notable civil and military officials from the Han Dynasty to the Ming Dynasty, each with distinct expressions and lifelike appearances, still vibrant in color today. Inside the hall is a clay sculpture of the “Beizhen Mountain God.” Hanging at the center of the hall is a bronze imperial plaque inscribed with the words “Qian Shi Shen Qu” (The Divine Region Begins Here), written by Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty.

Behind the Main Hall are three rooms of the Changing Hall, where worshippers change clothes before entering the Main Hall for ceremonies. Further back are three rooms of the Inner Incense Hall, used to store local offerings and incense. The final structure is the Sleeping Palace, considered the inner residence of the mountain god, making it slightly smaller than the Main Hall. A plaque inscribed with the words “Yu Cong Jia Qi” (Luxuriant and Auspicious Energy), offered by Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty, hangs at the center of the hall’s lintel, and the hall is surrounded by white stone railings.

The temple also houses 56 stone stelae from the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties. These include 12 stelae from the Yuan Dynasty (from the Dade, Huangqing, Yanxing, Zhi Shun, and Zhi Zheng eras) commemorating mountain worship and mountain sealing ceremonies, 16 stelae from the Ming Dynasty (from the Yongle, Chenghua, Hongzhi, Zhengde, Longqing, and Wanli eras) documenting temple renovations, and 28 stelae from the Qing Dynasty (from the Kangxi, Yongzheng, Qianlong, Daoguang, and Guangxu eras) featuring inscriptions about mountain worship, temple repairs, and travel poetry. These stelae hold significant value for archaeological research and calligraphic art. (National Cultural Heritage Administration)

Address: On a hill two kilometers west of Beizhen City, Jinzhou

Type: Historical Site / Temple

Recommended Visiting Time: 1–2 hours

Opening Hours:

8:00-18:00

Ticket Information:

Gate Price: 20.0 RMB

Further Reading:

· Third Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units