Mingtai Temple

Mingtai Temple

Mingtai Temple is a cultural tourism attraction.

Mingtai Temple

Mingtai Temple, originally named Mingtai Nunnery, is located in the basin valley between two peaks of Tianjie Mountain. It was first built in the 17th year of the Hongzhi reign during the Ming Dynasty (1504), covering an area of over 2,000 square meters. The original structures were destroyed multiple times and no longer exist. The current Mingtai Temple was rebuilt in 1993. The temple features a symmetrical axial layout in a palatial architectural style, grand and magnificent, solemn and dignified, with lush ancient trees and vibrant flowers both inside and outside the temple grounds.

Visitors must pass by this temple after exiting Yuhua Cave. The temple houses monks and enjoys flourishing incense offerings, making it a popular pilgrimage site today. Grand Buddhist gatherings are held here annually on the 19th day of the 2nd, 6th, and 9th lunar months—commemorating Guanyin’s birth, enlightenment, and nirvana, respectively. When Xu Xiake visited Yuhua Cave, he stayed and dined at this nunnery, recording in his Travelogue of Yuhua Cave: “Halfway up the mountain lies Mingtai Nunnery, which one passes on the way out of the cave’s rear entrance. At that time I had not yet eaten, so I walked back out to the left and climbed the ridge. The stone steps wound through pine trees for three li, when suddenly the green lotus-like nunnery came into view. I ate at the nunnery before descending again to the front entrance of the cave… then went down to bathe at the nunnery and spent the night there.”