Sweet Dew Rock Temple

Sweet Dew Rock Temple

Sweet Dew Rock Temple is a national AAAA-level tourist attraction and a cultural tourism site.

Sweet Dew Rock Temple is located on the western shore of Jinhu Lake within the Taining Scenic Area in Taining County, Fujian Province, on the western side of Changtan Renxing Mountain. Originally built in the 16th year of the Shaoxing era of the Song Dynasty (1146 AD), it has a history of over 850 years. The temple features a unique architectural structure of “a single pillar rooted in the earth without the use of a single tile,” and is one of the world-renowned rock-hewn temples. It was listed as a provincial-level cultural relics protection unit in the 1950s.

The rock temple is hidden deep within a red stone ravine. To its left is a massive red rock that resembles an enormous “bell,” and to its right is another that looks like a peerless giant “drum.” The Sweet Dew Temple is nestled between these Bell and Drum rocks, hence the saying “right drum, left bell, the temple (also meaning ‘wonder’) lies within,” describing its unique location.

Sweet Dew Rock is a naturally formed cave that is narrow at the top and wide at the entrance, standing about 80 meters high and 30 meters deep. The upper and lower parts of the cave consist of conglomerate rock, while the middle layer is sandstone. The spring water that seeps out is filtered through the rock layers, resulting in water that is sweet and refreshing like sweet dew — hence the name of the temple. The cave is about 30 meters wide at the top but narrows to just over 10 meters at the bottom, taking an inverted triangular shape. Ancient builders ingeniously solved the problem of the cave’s wider top and narrower bottom by employing the method of supporting the structure with a single wooden pillar — which is also the most miraculous aspect of the rock temple. A single pillar reaches the ground, and upon it stand four pavilions. The entire multi-eaved, hip-and-gable style layered complex, including the Upper Hall, Mirage Pavilion, Guanyin Pavilion, and Nan’an Pavilion, all rely on this single pillar for support, and not a single tile is used on the roof. It can rightly be called a “hanging temple,” “flying temple,” or “single-pillar temple.” All the structures in the temple are made of wood, connected using T-shaped arches, with not a single iron nail used. It is a rare example of ancient wooden architecture in southern China.

Location

Western Shore of Jinhu Lake, Taining County, Fujian Province