Da Gaoxuan Hall

Da Gaoxuan Hall

Da Gaoxuan Hall is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Da Gaoxuan Hall is located at No. 23, Sanzaimen Street, Xicheng District. It was built in the 21st year of the Jiajing reign during the Ming Dynasty (1542) as an imperial Taoist temple for the courts of the Ming and Qing dynasties. It has been renovated many times since. The hall faces south and spans about 13,000 square meters, with a rectangular layout running north to south. Its facade has two layers of three arched gateways with imitation wooden structures and green-glazed tiles. Behind the gateways is the hallway-style Da Gaoxuan Gate. Originally, there were flagpoles in front of the Da Gaoxuan Gate (only the stone bases remain today), and bell and drum towers behind it. The main hall is called Da Gaoxuan Hall, which has seven bays, a double-eaved roof covered with yellow-glazed tubular tiles in the hip-and-gable style, and a front terrace. There are five-bay side halls on each side. The rear hall is named Jiutian Yingyuan Thunder Altar, featuring five bays, with nine-bay side halls on either side. The extant main structures are accessed through three gateways cut into the enclosing wall and protected by stone railings. Inside are the Da Gaoxuan Gate, bell and drum towers, east and west side halls, Da Gaoxuan Hall, Jiutian Yingyuan Thunder Altar, and hip-and-gable halls. At the very back is a two-story pavilion symbolizing the round heaven and square earth — Qianyuan Pavilion. Its upper level has a round, pointed roof covered with blue-glazed tiles, representing the sky, while the lower level, known as “Kunzhen Mansion,” is square with yellow-glazed tiles, symbolizing the earth.

Further Reading:

· One of Beijing’s First Batch of Municipal-Level Cultural Relics Protection Units

· Fourth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units