The Palace of the Holy Mother Bixia

The Palace of the Holy Mother Bixia

The Palace of the Holy Mother Bixia is a cultural heritage site protected at the provincial level in Shanxi Province.

The Palace of the Holy Mother Bixia

The Palace of the Holy Mother Bixia (Third Batch Provincial-Level Protected Site)

Era: Ming Dynasty

Location: Fangdui Village, Guangsheng Temple Town, Hongtong County

According to inscriptions, it was originally built in the second year of the Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty (1523), and the existing main structure dates back to the Ming era.

The temple faces south and features a two-courtyard layout. Along the central axis, there is a wooden memorial archway and the Hall of the Holy Mother. Only three rooms of the west wing remain on the sides, covering an area of 888 square meters. The main hall is three bays wide and three bays deep, with a single-eave hip-and-gable roof adorned with glazed ridge ornaments and tiles. It has a seven-rafter beam frame; the column-top bracket sets feature seven-curved double-angled single upward-upswept brackets, while the intermediate bracket sets consist of one cluster. The front eaves of the central bay are fitted with lattice doors, and the side bays have lattice windows. Inside the hall is a concave-shaped shrine, on which the statue of the Holy Mother is enshrined. On either side are statues of maidens and attendants, and the side walls as well as the rear wall feature suspended plaster sculptures, all dating from the Ming Dynasty.

Further Reading:

· Third Batch of Provincial-Level Cultural Heritage Sites in Shanxi Province