Weichang Xinghua Temple

Weichang Xinghua Temple

Weichang Xinghua Temple is a cultural tourism attraction.

Xinghua Temple is located within Qipanshan Town, about 20 kilometers north of Weichang County. In the town lies a complex of ancient buildings – this is the widely renowned "Xinghua Temple." It is also known as "Chaoxianyuan" and commonly referred to as "Dage" (The Grand Pavilion) by locals.

Xinghua Temple was first built in the second year of the Xuantong reign of the Qing Dynasty (1910 AD), originally consisting of six levels of halls. The central hall featured clay statues of the Four Heavenly Kings, with a large horse on each side. The second level was the "Goddess Hall," with a statue of the Goddess in the center and statues of the "Mountain God" and the "Earth God" on either side. The third level was the "Lord Hall," housing statues of Guan Yu, Yue Fei, Liu Bei, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, and Guan Ping. The fourth level was the "Grand Pavilion," an all-wooden structure in an octagonal shape and dense-eave style (pavilion-style), divided into six tiers inside, featuring statues such as the Guanyin of the South Sea, the Jade Emperor, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King, Taibai Jinxing, the Black Cockerel deity, Confucius, and the Thousand-Armed and Thousand-Eyed Buddha. During the Cultural Revolution, the original fifth level, the "Inner Cabinet," was demolished. The statues in all the halls were also destroyed. Today, the remains of the temple complex include the front three levels of halls, the rear hall, the west side hall, and the ruins of the eastern and western stone pavilions.

Xinghua Temple is the only surviving Qing Dynasty temple building in Weichang County and is a provincial-level cultural relics protection unit. In its heyday, the annual "Xinghua Temple" temple fair was extraordinarily lively, attracting merchants and worshippers from dozens or even hundreds of miles around, making it a bustling hub of commerce.

In recent years, on the basis of well preserving Xinghua Temple, Weichang County has actively raised funds to partially restore the original architectural style, and incense burning continues to this day. This place is undoubtedly a great destination for tourists to visit and explore.

Transportation Guide

Location: Within Qipanshan Town, Weichang Manchu and Mongolian Autonomous County, Chengde City, Hebei Province

By Bus: Take a bus from Weichang County to Qipanshan Town, then walk or take a minibus eastward to Dage (The Grand Pavilion).

By Car: From Chengde, pass through Longhua and take Provincial Highway S254 to Weichang County, then take National Highway G111 to Longtoushan, turn right onto Provincial Highway S254 (Siyu Line), and continue to Qipanshan Town. Drive eastward to Dage (The Grand Pavilion).