Nuanquan Huayan Temple

Nuanquan Huayan Temple

Huayan Temple in Nuanquan is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Huayan Temple is situated in Nuanquan Ancient Town, facing south with its back to the north. The central axis originally had a mountain gate, the Hall of Heavenly Kings, a passageway hall, and the Mahavira Hall, with bell and drum towers, side halls, and meditation rooms on both sides. Due to historical reasons, the mountain gate, Hall of Heavenly Kings, and bell and drum towers have been lost, but the other buildings remain. Although there are no historical documents about the temple’s construction date, local elders reported that a wooden plaque once hung beneath the ridge beam of the main hall, inscribed with the words “The 32nd Year of the Hongwu Era of the Great Ming,” which aligns with experts’ findings that it is an early Ming Dynasty structure. Therefore, the existing buildings of Huayan Temple date back to the early Ming period. Judging from its painted decorations and ceiling patterns, the temple is believed to have been commissioned by the royal family. Huayan Temple is majestic and splendid, exquisitely ornate, and can be regarded as a grand Buddhist monastery of Yu Prefecture.

Historically, there was a saying about Huayan Temple: “In front of the great temple lies the Buddha’s Mirror; behind the great temple lies the vegetable garden.” While the vegetable garden behind the temple has long disappeared, the “Buddha’s Mirror” (believed to be the temple’s liberation pond) in front still remains clear and visible. Located outside the mountain gate in front of the temple, the “Buddha’s Mirror” is a circular stone pool with a diameter of about 15 meters. The water, fed by a natural spring, is crystal clear, with colorful koi swimming at the bottom and white geese floating on the surface, giving it a distinctly Jiangnan-style charm.

The passageway hall features a single-eave hip-and-gable roof covered with clay tiles, adorned with a scrolling vine ridge. It is three bays wide and two bays deep, with five-purlin single-ang roof brackets on the exterior eaves. The interior is fully covered with ceiling panels, featuring painted four-melon dragons in the central bay, painted phoenixes in the side bays, and cranes in the front and rear corridors. The colorful paintings in this hall are magnificent and well-preserved, making it a rare artistic masterpiece.

The rear hall is the main structure of the entire temple. It also has a single-eave hip-and-gable roof with clay tiles and a scrolling vine ridge, measuring five bays in width and four bays in depth. The hall is exceptionally imposing, with sturdy beams and columns, and five-purlin double-ang roof brackets on the exterior. The interior is constructed with exposed beams, and the beams are richly decorated with colorful paintings. These paintings, created using folk art techniques, depict motifs such as dragons, qilins, lions, and flowers. The artwork is diverse, ingeniously composed, and skillfully executed. Many renowned domestic experts and scholars who have seen it have spoken highly of it.

The temple courtyard includes three side halls each on the east and west sides, all with flush-gable roofs covered with clay tiles, as well as several meditation rooms.

Nuanquan Town: Nuanquan Town is located at the westernmost part of Yu County, bordering Guangling County in Shanxi Province. It is 12.4 kilometers from the county seat and is a typical northern town primarily focused on agriculture. At an elevation of 940 meters, the town covers an area of 57.3 square kilometers, administers 16 administrative villages, and has a population of 6,538 households and 17,762 people. The cultivated land spans 34,500 mu, including 12,350 mu of irrigated land, mainly growing millet, coarse grains, and corn.

Nuanquan Town was established during the Yuan Dynasty and took shape during the Ming and Qing periods with a layout of “three forts, six lanes, and eighteen villages.” It currently houses three National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units: Xigubao Fort, Huayan Temple, and Laojun Temple. The detailed information of Nuanquan Town++

Further Reading:

· Fifth Batch of Hebei Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units

· Third Batch of Hebei Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units

· Sixth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units