Tianshui Jixin Temple

Tianshui Jixin Temple

Tianshui Jixin Temple is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Jixin Temple is located on Minzhu East Road in Qincheng District, Tianshui City. Its full name is Han Zhonglie Ji General Temple, also known as Tianshui Chenghuang Temple. Originally built during the Yuan Dynasty as the county government office of Chengji County, it was repurposed and expanded during the Ming Dynasty into this temple to commemorate Ji Xin, a famous general of the Western Han Dynasty. Further expansions and renovations were carried out during the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China period.

The original site covered an area of 4,960 square meters, but only about 1,700 square meters remain today. At the front of the architectural complex stands a four-pillar, three-story wooden memorial archway, spanning three bays, over 10 meters high, with a single-eave hip-and-gable roof. The plaque was inscribed by Mr. Yu Youren. In 1987, when the street was widened, the archway was moved 15 meters to the left. Behind the archway is a brick gate tower with a central vermilion door, featuring a round arch lintel adorned with carved cloud-dragon motifs. Beyond that lies a passageway, flanked by 11 single-slope corridors on each side, with a small wooden-frame memorial archway built horizontally in the middle. Inside the second gate is a three-sided courtyard, with a two-story, pavilion-style double gate situated centrally at the back of the courtyard. To the east and west of the double gate stand bell and drum towers. Below that is the third passageway gate, flanked by east and west viewing towers. The east viewing tower has been converted into an office building, while the west viewing tower remains—a two-story, flush-gable corridor tower. Inside the double gate lies the main section of the architectural complex, consisting of straight corridors, front and rear worship halls, the main hall, and the bedroom palace. The front worship hall is a three-bay, single-eave, hanging-roof structure connected to the worship hall by a rolled shed-style straight corridor. Behind the worship hall, atop a raised platform, stands a three-bay, single-eave, hip-and-gable roof main hall, which is taller than the surrounding buildings. Behind the main hall is a small three-bay, hanging-roof bedroom palace, still connected to the main hall by a rolled shed-style straight corridor.

On October 7, 2019, Jixin Temple was included in the eighth batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.

Admission

Free

Location

Minzhu East Road, Qinzhou District, Tianshui City, Gansu Province

Further Reading:

· Sixth Batch of Provincial-Level Cultural Relics Protection Units in Gansu Province

· Eighth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units