Xiqingbei Temple of Yu the Great

Xiqingbei Temple of Yu the Great

Xiqingbei Temple of Yu the Great is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Xiqingbei Temple of Yu the Great

Era: Yuan, Ming, Qing Dynasties

Address: Xiqingbei Village, Beishe Township, Pingshun County

Xiqingbei Temple of Yu the Great is located in Xiqingbei Village, Beishe Township, Pingshun County. It faces south and has a single-courtyard layout, measuring 20.1 meters east-west and 31 meters north-south, covering an area of 623.1 square meters. Its founding date is unknown, but the existing main structures are remnants from the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

Along the central axis from south to north, the temple consists of a theater stage, offering hall, and main hall, flanked by side rooms, bell and drum towers, east and west corridors, east and west side chambers, and east and west wing halls. The main hall is a Ming Dynasty structure, featuring a three-bay width, four-rafter depth, single-eave gable-and-hip roof, with five-curved single-bracket-and-single-rising bracket column-top brackets and five-curved double-rising bracket intercolumnar brackets. The offering hall is three bays wide, three rafters deep, with a single-eave roll-roofed canopy, and uses one-dou-two-sheng intercolumnar brackets with hemp-leaf decoration. The theater stage is a two-story building, with the lower level serving as the mountain gate passageway; it is three bays wide, four rafters deep, with a single-eave gable-and-hip roof, grey tiled roofing, and three-curved single-bracket column-top brackets. The bell and drum towers, corridors, side chambers, and wing halls are all small-style buildings from the Qing Dynasty.

The Xiqingbei Temple of Yu the Great retains a complete overall layout, well-preserved structure, and distinct era characteristics, making it an important example of Ming and Qing Dynasty architecture.

In May 2013, the Xiqingbei Temple of Yu the Great was designated as part of the seventh batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.

Further reading:

· Fourth Batch of Shanxi Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units

· Seventh Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units