Panxian County God Temple

Panxian County God Temple

Panxian County God Temple is a cultural tourism attraction.

The County God Temple, located at the plum orchard at the foot of Fengshan Academy in Chengguan Town, has an uncertain date of establishment. The Jiajing-era "Puan Prefecture Annals" from the Ming Dynasty contains records of its location. It was renovated in the 19th year of the Qianlong reign (1754), the rear hall was rebuilt in the 9th year of the Tongzhi reign (1870), and the main hall was renovated again in the 11th year of the Guangxu reign (1885).

The original architectural layout of the temple was as follows: along the central axis from front to back were the front hall, the main hall, side halls on the left and right, and the rear hall. The rear hall was attached to the main hall, separated only by a drainage ditch, collectively forming an enclosed quadrangle courtyard with a total area of approximately 1,000 square meters.

The central bay of the front hall featured a two-story theatrical-style structure—the lower floor served as a passageway, while the upper floor functioned as a stage. The front eaves were entirely designed in the style of a gatehouse, whereas the rear eaves faced the main hall and were purely theatrical in style, featuring a hip-and-gable roof with upturned corners supported by bracket arms. Originally covered with cylindrical tiles, the roof now has grey tiles. The side bays had flush-gable roofs, with two floors each, making the overall width—including the stage—13.5 meters and the depth 9 meters. At the entrance of the original main gate stood a statue of “Wuchang” (the messenger of death), about three meters tall, wearing a hat two feet high inscribed with the phrase “A Glimpse Brings Good Fortune”; there were also two stone horses, each weighing about two tons, standing 1.5 meters tall and 1.7 meters long, with carved stone attendants standing in front of them, depicted as leading the horses. The main hall had seven bays, measuring 28.3 meters in width and 11 meters in depth, with a three-step front porch that extended 2.5 meters. It had a flush-gable roof, with bracket sets installed on both the porch roof and the front eaves. The eave boards between each bay were fitted between hanging melon motifs, and the lintels, moon beams, spandrels, hanging melons, and eave boards were all intricately carved with openwork designs, showcasing relatively fine craftsmanship. The roof framework combined both post-and-lintel and Dougong (bracket arm) construction methods. Originally, a large abacus hung beneath the central bay, with a horizontal plaque inscribed with the words “Not Even Heaven Can Calculate.” The secondary and corner bays housed statues of the “Ten Kings of Hell.” Each of the two side halls had five bays, constructed with wooden flush-gable roofs and post-and-lintel frameworks; they measured 15 meters in width and 7 meters in depth. The interiors were adorned with vivid and eerie depictions of “hell scenes.”

Today, except for the rear hall, which was destroyed early on, the other halls still stand, though most of their interior and exterior decorations have lost their original appearance. Plaques, stone carvings, and clay sculptures have been damaged, and the buildings have long been repurposed as staff dormitories. In June 2006, the People's Government of Guizhou Province designated it as a provincial-level cultural relics protection unit.