Prince Hall in Ningwu

Prince Hall in Ningwu

Prince Hall is located at the summit of Luya Mountain, northeast of Dam'an Village, Ximafang Township, Ningwu County. It faces south and has a construction area of approximately 10.6 square meters. The exact date of its original construction is unknown. According to inscriptions on steles, it was rebuilt in the eighth year of the Kangxi reign during the Qing Dynasty (1669).

It is a single structure with a square floor plan, each side measuring 3.2 meters. The interior features a stone-vaulted cave-like structure with four stone pillars and a pyramidal roof. The front of the entrance bears an inscription reading “Prince Hall,” while the sides are engraved with the couplet: “Restoring the compassionate clouds over the Central Land, and spreading the Dharma rain to the frontier regions.” On the outside, the characters “Buddha” and “Ancestor” are written in regular script. An inscription on a stele inside the back wall reads: “The 25th day of the 7th month in the 25th year of the Daoguang reign (1845).” Legend has it that at the end of the Ming Dynasty, when Li Zicheng captured Beijing, the Ming prince fled here to seek refuge—hence the name Prince Hall. In 1985, the Ningwu County People's Government designated it as a county-level cultural relics protection unit. (From *A Collection of Cultural Relics in Xinzhou*)

Source: Xinzhou Website