She County Qingquan Temple

She County Qingquan Temple

She County Qingquan Temple is a national key cultural relic protection unit.

Qingquan Temple is located to the south of Shigang Village, about 15 li southeast of She County, Handan, Hebei Province. To the east of the temple, there is a spring emerging from between the rocks. Originally, there were two springs, one named Sweet Dew and the other named Jade Liquid, both sweet and fragrant, hence the name Qingquan (Clear Spring) Temple. It is now a key cultural relic protection unit of Hebei Province. Adjacent attractions include Jingyin Temple, Nanshan Temple, Baipan Temple, Nine Dragons Holy Mother Hall, Lu Ban Rock, Chaoyang Cave, Yaoling Fort, thousand-year-old locust tree, ten-thousand-year-old cypress, and others, all surrounded by legendary tales.

The temple is surrounded by walls, with a mountain gate and bell and drum towers at the front. There are four main halls, as well as east and west side halls, scripture depository hall, and Arhat Hall, among others. To the southeast of the temple, there is a structure with a stone archway below, spanning three bays in depth. The stone archway is inscribed with the characters “Bao Fang,” and inside is written “Lin Quan.” Inside the temple, there are calligraphy steles of exquisite artistry, including the Chinese character “Dragon” written by Han Dynasty’s Fadao Ling, the character “Tiger” by Emperor Kangxi, and the phrase “White Goose Flies to the Pool” by Jin Dynasty’s Wang Xizhi. The inkstone inscriptions of Taoist Master Zhang are also present, and the pair of stone lions on either side of the mountain gate are the only ones of their kind in China.

Along the path from Shigang Village to Qingquan Temple, inscriptions on the cliffside read: “Called Hua Temple in the Tang Dynasty, Qingbi Temple in the Liang and Song Dynasties, and Qingquan Temple in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.” This shows that a temple existed as early as the Tang Dynasty, while the current structure was built during the Ming and Qing periods. The temple is situated halfway up the mountain, enclosed by walls, with its mountain gate facing south. Along the central north-south axis, in sequence, are the Water-Land Hall, Pilu Hall, lotus pond, Mahavira Hall, and Leiyin Hall. On both sides of the axis are side rooms. In the northwest corner of the temple are the Scripture Depository Hall and the Immortal Mirror Platform, while the southeast part houses the Sangharama Hall.

The Water-Land Hall, also known as the Heavenly King Hall, has a hanging hip roof, with a width of three bays and a depth of one bay; the Pilu Hall, also called the Arhat Hall, is three bays wide and three bays deep, with a hip-and-gable roof; the Mahavira Hall, initially built during the Yongle era of the Ming Dynasty, is three bays wide and two bays deep, with a hanging hip roof covered in glazed tiles; the lotus pond is octagonal, surrounded by column balusters and railings; the Leiyin Hall was first built in the 24th year of the Jiajing era of the Ming Dynasty, is five bays wide and two bays deep, with a flush gable roof covered in glazed tiles; the Scripture Depository Hall is five bays wide and one bay deep, with a flush gable roof. In the 1980s, Qingquan Temple was destroyed by a fire, but its foundations remain.

Qingquan Temple is grand in scale. It consists of five major halls — the Heavenly King Hall, Pilu Hall, Mahavira Hall, Leiyin Hall, and Scripture Depository Hall — forming a rectangular ancient architectural complex covering an area of 150,000 square meters. Later, a major fire destroyed most of the temple, and currently, 19 structures remain, including the Scripture Depository Hall, mountain gate, and bell and drum towers.

On October 7, 2019, She County Qingquan Temple was included in the eighth batch of National Key Cultural Relic Protection Units.

Scenic Area Address: Shigang Village, Guxin Town, She County, Handan, Hebei Province

Transportation: Take a bus from Handan Bus Station to Handan City; then take an intercity bus from the county town to Guxin Town, get off at the Qingquan Temple scenic area intersection, and transfer to a minibus to reach the site.

Further Reading:

· Second Batch of Key Cultural Relics Protection Units in Hebei Province

· Eighth Batch of National Key Cultural Relic Protection Units