Yuwang Temple on West Taihu Lake (Xishan Island)

Yuwang Temple on West Taihu Lake (Xishan Island)

Yuwang Temple on West Taihu Lake is a cultural heritage site protected by the Suzhou Municipal Government.

Yuwang Temple is located in Yali Village, Jinting Town, Wuzhong District, Suzhou City, on Yali Zhou—a peninsula at the northern end of the ancient Yali Village that is surrounded by water on three sides. The scenic area covers fifty acres and includes structures such as the mountain gate, memorial archway, Liyun Pavilion, a statue of Yu the Great, the ruins of the Taiping Army’s earthen fort, the Hall of Yu the Great, the Hall of the God of Wealth, the Palace of the Heavenly Queen, and an ancient dock. Yuwang Temple is a shrine built by the islanders of Xishan to honor Yu the Great for his achievements in water control. It is currently the only remaining Yuwang Temple on Taihu Lake and was listed as a county-level cultural heritage site in 1984.

The temple features a main hall with three bays, supported by nanmu (phoebe nanmu) beams and columns standing ten meters high, in a single-eave hip-and-gable roof style with four upturned corners, each facing one of the four cardinal directions. There is also a bluestone imperial path from the Ming Dynasty, engraved with a design of two dragons playing with a pearl. Beside the temple, a stone tablet bears the inscription “A panoramic view of vast waves,” written by Hu Juewen, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress. The area around the temple is picturesque, with beautiful lakes and mountains. On the ground near the temple are small iron-colored sand grains the size of mustard seeds, said to be remnants from the legend of Yu the Great casting an iron cauldron and slaying a demon dragon. Li Genyuan, a veteran statesman of the Kuomintang, once remarked of Yuwang Temple, “Yali Zhou is surrounded by water on three sides, with outstanding landscape beauty that transcends the ordinary—it should be regarded as the foremost scenic site on the lake.” Yuwang Temple has a long history; according to historical records, it was first built during the Liang Dynasty and has a history of over 1,200 years.

The existing main hall of Yuwang Temple was constructed in the 14th year of the Jiaqing reign of the Qing Dynasty (1809), and the temple complex covers more than 20 acres. This ancient and evocative temple not only showcases artistic beauty through its exquisite and ingenious design, but also reflects aesthetic harmony with its natural surroundings. The ancient dock in the southeastern corner of the temple dates back to the Ming Dynasty. It is 65 meters long, 3.4 meters wide, and 1.8 meters high, built entirely from granite stones. Its majestic scale and long history make it a landmark unmatched on Taihu Lake.