Yuan Tong Temple in Luxian County

Yuan Tong Temple in Luxian County

Yuan Tong Temple in Luxian County is a national key cultural relics protection unit.

Yuan Tong Temple in Yusi Town, Luxian County, also known as Yuan Tong Chanlin, is an ancient wooden and stone-structured temple. It was originally built in the first year of the Zhengde era of the Ming Dynasty (1506), rebuilt in the 36th year of the Wanli era (1608), renovated in the fourth year of the Guangxu era (1878), and restored again between 2006 and 2007. Originally consisting of three main halls, only the front hall, middle hall, and right wing room remain. The temple faces northwest from the southeast and features a compound layout of four courtyards, covering an area of approximately 966.5 square meters. The front hall is constructed with a combination of stone and wood, featuring a double-eaved hip-and-gable roof, a mixed post-and-lintel and beam-column timber frame, with seven rafter beams in total. There are four pillars with front and rear tie beams. It is 14 meters wide, 8.4 meters deep, and 8 meters tall. The middle hall sits on a 1-meter-high podium that is plain-surfaced, accessible by a five-step stone stairway. The hall measures 12 meters in width, 11 meters in depth, and 9 meters in height. It has a double-eaved hip-and-gable roof and a post-and-lintel timber frame, supported internally by four stone pillars each 6.3 meters high and 0.5 meters in both length and width. The mountain-wall columns are also made of stone. Around the eaves, bracket sets (dougong) are used to support the beams and rafters, with a total of sixty bracket sets designed in the style of the Ming and Qing construction regulations. Yuan Tong Temple holds significant historical and artistic value for the study of ancient Ming and Qing architecture. In December 2002, it was designated as a sixth-batch provincial-level cultural relics protection unit by the People’s Government of Sichuan Province.

On October 7, 2019, Yuan Tong Temple in Luxian County was included in the eighth batch of national key cultural relics protection units.

Protected Area: To the east, bordered by a slope 6 meters outside the temple; to the south, by a burial mound 15 meters outside the temple; to the west, extending 25 meters outside the temple; to the north, by a slope 25 meters outside the temple.

Construction Control Zone: Bounded by the foothills at the base of the small hill where Yuan Tong Temple is located.

Yusi Town: Located in the northern part of Luxian County, Yusi Town covers an area of 735,000 square kilometers, with 36,000 mu (approximately 2,400 hectares) of cultivated land and a total population of over 49,000. It borders Fangdong Town to the east, Fuchi Town to the south, Jiaming Town to the west, and Yutan Town as well as Shiyanzhen in Longchang County to the north. It is 25 kilometers from the county seat Fuchi, with tertiary roads connecting the town to other towns.

The two major pillar industries in Yusi Town are liquor production and coal mining. In 2006, their combined tax revenue was 5 million yuan, accounting for 50% of the town's total tax income, ranking 12th among all towns in the county in terms of fiscal revenue. This shows… More details about Yusi Town ++

Further Reading:

· Eighth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units