Nanzhai Cooling Pavilion

Nanzhai Cooling Pavilion

The Nanzhai Cooling Pavilion is a cultural relic protection unit of Hebei Province.

The Cooling Pavilion, also known as Nanzhai Pavilion, is situated in Nanzhai Village, Jingxing Mining District, Shijiazhuang City. It is a key cultural relic protection unit of Hebei Province. This pavilion features a unique architectural style, ingenious design, sturdy structure, and majestic presence. According to the *Jingxing County Annals*, it was built in the 19th year of the Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty (1540 AD), making it over 450 years old. Legend has it that the Cooling Pavilion was originally established during the Tang Dynasty. Beneath the pavilion was once a large pond inhabited by a giant turtle spirit that devoured one boy and one girl annually. When Monk Xuanzang passed through on his journey to retrieve Buddhist scriptures, he eliminated the menace for the local people by rallying villagers to fill the pond with lime, yellow earth, and other materials, then constructing the temple atop it.

The ancient Cooling Pavilion in Nanzhai Village, Jingxing Mining District, was constructed in the 19th year of the Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty (1540). Covering an area of over 800 square meters with 25 rooms, the Cooling Pavilion’s ground level features interconnected stone arches, above which sits an exquisitely designed pavilion. It is the only ancient pavilion of its kind in Shijiazhuang. The site holds significant value for studying the historical architecture and culture of the Central Plains during the Ming and Qing dynasties.

The Cooling Pavilion faces south and covers an area of 1.2 mu (approximately 0.08 hectares), housing 25 rooms and standing 5.3 zhang (approximately 17.6 meters) tall. It originally had 83 upright columns and 27 stone steles of various sizes, along with 18 golden plaques. The over-one-zhang-high platform base is entirely constructed from blue stone. Below the base, the spacious and lofty arched passages are built from blue stone and blue bricks, arranged in east-west pairs and one north-south passage, interweaving to allow the free passage of people, animals, and vehicles. Within the arches are two stone lanterns, one Dragon Bridge tunnel, and on the southern sides of the arches stand two turtle-base stone steles from the Ming Dynasty's Wanli era. To the east and west of the steles are stone gates and steps leading to the interior, with the gate lintels inscribed with the characters “Yi Su” (Transforming Customs) and “Hua Min” (Civilizing the People). In front of the main gate lies a large platform, flanked on both sides by stone railings adorned with four carved stone lions each, inscribed with “Da Long Kou” (Big Dragon Mouth) and “Xiao Long Kou” (Small Dragon Mouth). During the annual temple fair on the 18th day of the fourth lunar month, a wide wooden ladder is erected in the center, allowing four or five people to ascend or descend side by side. There are two symmetrical carved stone lions in front of and behind the main gate. On the east and west sides of the main gate stand bell and drum towers respectively—one housing a large iron bell, the other a large drum. The main hall enshrines the deity Huang Feihu, the Heavenly Emperor of Mount Tai. The front courtyard corridor features clay sculptures of deities such as the Heng and Ha Generals, General Pi, Medicine Buddha, and the Ten Kings of Hell. The rear hall is the Palace of the Goddess of Mount Tai, housing a clay statue of the Goddess and twelve fairies. Originally, a golden plaque inscribed with “Palace of Mount Tai,” personally written by Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty, hung above the rear hall. The rear courtyard corridor includes statues of the White Guanyin, Fire God, Zhao Lingguan, Wang Lingguan, and Ma Lingguan. On the second floor, the main hall houses a statue of Goddess Nüwa, the east hall a statue of the Rash God, and the west hall a statue of the Vision God. Although the entire complex is aged and in disrepair, its soaring eaves, intricate brackets, and exquisitely painted beams and columns still showcase exceptional architectural craftsmanship that continues to amaze visitors.

The Cooling Pavilion currently preserves a large iron bell forged during the Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty, as well as an iron incense burner cast in the Wanli reign. The incense burner stands over two meters tall, topped with a cover, supported by window-hole-style legs, and featuring a basin-shaped incense bowl in the middle. Its ingenious design and unique style include inscriptions on each tier—slender calligraphy that has mostly faded due to weathering, except for the clear twelve characters at the top: “Imperial Reign Eternal, Virtue Flourishes, Buddha’s Light Shines Brighter.” Additionally, in the main hall of the front courtyard hangs a dark blue wooden plaque engraved with four golden characters “Hui Wo Wu Jiang” (Boundless Blessings), erected after the Feng-Jin War in 1928. The Cooling Pavilion boasts numerous stone steles, which hold significant reference value for researching the history of the Ming and Qing dynasties.

Jiazhuang Town: Located in the northwest of Jingxing Mining District, Shijiazhuang City, Jiazhuang Town is recognized as a National Key Town by six ministries including China’s Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development. The town has a long history and numerous cultural relics, with the Cooling Pavilion, Chaoyang Pavilion, and Xingguo Temple designated as provincial-level cultural relic protection units. Covering a total area of 35 square kilometers, the town administers 10 communities with a population of 26,000. It has been listed as one of the “First Batch of 500 Pilot Small Town Construction Towns Nationwide” and Hebei Province’s “Model Town for Well-Off Construction.” In 2007, Jiazhuang Town ranked among the top 50 towns in the city and the top 100 in the province.

More... Detailed information about Jiazhuang Town++

Further Reading:

· Third Batch of Cultural Relic Protection Units in Hebei Province