Lower Yuanxu Palace

Lower Yuanxu Palace

Lower Yuanxu Palace is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Era: Qing Dynasty

Address: Baoning Mountain, Qinglongcheng, Liulin County, Jinzhong City, Shanxi Province

The original construction date is unknown. The plaque of the main hall, Xuantian Hall, dates back to the Zhengde era of the Ming Dynasty (1510). The palace faces south and is built along the mountain terrain, with seventy-two steps leading to the mountain gate. It has a two-courtyard layout and includes structures such as Xuantian Hall, Guanyin Hall, Medicine King Hall, Madonna Hall, and Ancestral & Wet Nurse Hall.

The main hall, Xuantian Hall, is five bays wide and three bays deep, with a single-eave gable-and-hip roof covered in tubular and flat tiles, featuring glazed tile trimming. It is situated on a tall brick platform surrounded by railings and columns, with a protruding ramped entrance in front. The central and side bays have lattice doors, while the smaller side bays have vertical lattice windows. The front eaves have a hanging corridor one bay deep, and the gable walls connect to an eight-shaped brick screen wall decorated with a glazed double-dragon playing-with-a-pearl design. The bracket sets under the eaves are of the five-coursed double-ang type, with diagonal brackets in the central bay. The roof framework uses standardized materials and is fully exposed, featuring four purlins opposing front struts with three pillars, supported by bracket columns carrying double-step beams, which are further supported by bracket columns, crossed arms, and layered elements holding up the ridge beam. The hall platform holds a wooden carved shrine enshrining a over 3-meter-tall statue of Zhenwu, the same age as the building.

In May 2013, Lower Yuanxu Palace was announced as part of the seventh group of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.

Further reading:

· Seventh Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units