Guangde Yunmen Temple

Guangde Yunmen Temple

Guangde Yunmen Temple is a cultural heritage site protected by Anhui Province.

Yunmen Temple, located in Henggang Village, Xinhang Town, Guangde County, Anhui Province, has a history of over 1,500 years. The temple has been destroyed, but on the nearby hillside, about 1,000 meters from where the temple once stood, there are three monks’ tombs. One temple stele remains, inscribed with “Record of the Reconstruction of Yunmen Temple.” This stele was erected during the reconstruction in the 24th year of the Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty (1685). To develop tourism resources and rebuild Yunmen Temple, a Guanyin Hall has now been constructed.

Yunmen Temple was originally named Zhengjue Temple, located at the foot of Yunmen Mountain in Banqiao Group, Henggang Village, Xinhang Town. It later took its name from the mountain. The place name “Yunmen Mountain” has since been forgotten, and locals now refer to it as “Dongka” or “Xika.” Within the old site of Yunmen Temple, surrounded by mountains on all sides, there lies an area where two southern hills frame a winding stream. A narrow cement road winds westward from a small bridge at the mountain pass, leading directly into the village. In 2007, three rooms of plain blue-brick, wooden-frame, and small-tile construction still stood at the old site, filled with miscellaneous items, but they have collapsed in recent years. The site is scattered with broken bricks, tiles, fragmented steles, and stone architectural elements. Three tall ancient ginkgo trees hang plaques issued by the county government for the protection of ancient and notable trees, likely remnants of the temple.

The ancient stele stands within the old site of Yunmen Temple. The stele itself is 2.45 meters tall, 1.28 meters wide, and 0.14 meters thick, made of ordinary bluestone. Its base is 0.37 meters high, 1.6 meters wide, and 0.5 meters thick, made of granite. The front side of the stele is severely weathered (human factors cannot be ruled out), with four or five vertical, strip-shaped sections where the inscriptions have completely disappeared. The upper part of the stele, especially the smaller-character records, is blurred and difficult to discern, with some areas even covered in moss. From the side, multiple longitudinal cracks are visible. The reverse side of the stele is uneven, clearly not polished or inscribed.

Henggang Village: The Henggang Village Party General Branch has a total of 108 party members (including 10 female members), with 3 branch committee members. Li Mengxing serves as the person in charge of the Party organization.

Henggang Village is located in the northern part of Xinhang Town, at the junction of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui provinces. It is eight kilometers away from the province’s AAAA-level scenic spot, “Taiji Cave,” and connects with the well-known Jiangsu tourist attraction, Tianmu Lake Nanshan Bamboo Sea. The village is surrounded by mountains on three sides, stretching 10.5 kilometers from north to south and approximately 2 kilometers from east to west, covering a total area of 18.16 square kilometers. Of this, 16 square kilometers consist of forested mountains, 0.9 square kilometers are farmland, and 1.26 square kilometers are villages... More detailed information about Henggang Village++