Jifu Temple

Jifu Temple

Jifu Temple is a cultural heritage site protected by Wutai County.

Jifu Temple in Mount Wutai is located approximately 600 meters northeast of Dongzhuang Village, Taihuai Town, Wutai County. It faces south and measures 153.72 meters from east to west and 105.10 meters from north to south, covering an area of 16,200 square meters.

According to the Qing Dynasty’s *Wutai County Annals*, it was built during the Daoguang era (1821–1850). The existing buildings include the Hall of Heavenly Kings, the Main Hall, the Manjushri Hall, the Bell and Drum Towers, and the Side Halls, all dating back to the Qing Dynasty, while the rest are newly constructed. The temple follows a two-courtyard layout, with the central axis featuring, in sequence, the Hall of Heavenly Kings, the Mahavira Hall, the Manjushri Hall, and the Scripture Depository, the latter being newly built in 2001. On both sides are the Bell and Drum Towers and Side Halls. A side courtyard has been newly added to the main courtyard, housing meditation rooms and lay practitioners’ quarters, while another side courtyard on the east side includes monk dormitories and the vegetarian dining hall. The Mahavira Hall sits on a stone foundation that is 14.3 meters wide, 9.9 meters deep, and 1.4 meters high. The hall is five bays wide and six rafters deep, with a single-eave hip-and-gable roof and a seven-rafter front-and-rear corridor structure. The roof features a square-grid ceiling, and the front and rear central bays are fitted with four-panel lattice doors, whose lower panels are carved with coiled dragons. Inside the hall, a new central Buddha statue is flanked by two disciples, while the side walls house eighteen arhats, bringing the total number of new Buddha statues to 24. On either side are the Bell and Drum Towers, Side Halls, and Wing Halls. Newly built structures on the east and west sides include lay practitioners’ quarters, monk dormitories, and a boiler room. In July 1988, the People’s Government of Wutai County designated it as a county-level cultural heritage site. (*Xinzhou Cultural Relics Collection*)

Dongzhuang Village: Dongzhuang Village is located in Taihuai Town, Wutai County. The village has a population of 330 people, with 120 households. The cultivated land area spans 157 mu, including 157 mu of arable land and 2,179 mu of forested land, with a total oilseed yield of 1 mu.

Dongzhuang Village has a total of 330 people: there is one rural Party branch with 23 rural Party members, accounting for 6%. Of these 23 members, 9 are over the age of 55, making up 40%; 6 have high school education or above, accounting for 30%; and 6 are local entrepreneurs, also accounting for 30%.

The Village Party Branch Committee consists of 5 members, all over 35 years old… More details about Dongzhuang Village++