Site of the Prefectural City God Temple

Site of the Prefectural City God Temple

The Site of the Prefectural City God Temple is a cultural relic protection unit of Zhengding County.

On November 13, 1982, it was designated as a county-level key cultural relic protection unit by the People's Government of Zhengding County.

It is located on Southwest Street in the town. Historical records indicate that the Zhengding City God Temple was first built in the third year of the Hongwu reign during the Ming Dynasty (1370), facing south with its back to the north. The structures along its central axis from south to north were, in order: the theater stage, the dry bridge, the memorial archway, the mountain gate, the main hall, and the rear sleeping palace. On both sides were the east and west side halls and auxiliary rooms flanking the main hall, as well as auxiliary buildings on either side of the rear sleeping palace. The entire complex featured grand scale, majestic presence, rigorous layout, clear hierarchy, and represented a typical Chinese Taoist temple architectural arrangement integrating art and culture.

Since its completion, the City God Temple became the center of Taoist activities in Zhengding. Starting from the fifteenth year of the Hongwu reign in the Ming Dynasty (1382), officials responsible for Taoist affairs — the Daoji Si Dujì (Chief Registrar) and Deputy Dujì — appointed by the prefectural government, and the Dao Hui Si Daohui (Taoist Association Director) appointed by the county government, all resided in the temple to oversee both temple operations and local Taoist affairs.

Unfortunately, in 1966, the City God Temple was targeted as a key object of the “Smash the Four Olds” campaign, its statues were destroyed, and the temple was repurposed for other uses. During the 1980s cultural relics survey, only two structures remained inside the temple, then referred to as the front hall and the rear hall. These two halls no longer exist today.