Datong Kaihua Temple

Datong Kaihua Temple

Kaihua Temple is a cultural heritage site protected at the provincial level in Shanxi Province.

Kaihua Temple (Fifth Batch of Provincial-Level Protected Sites)

Era: Ming and Qing Dynasties

Address: No. 8 Shixiao Street, Chengqu District, Datong City

Kaihua Temple faces south and measures 14 meters from east to west and 17.11 meters from north to south, covering an area of 240 square meters. According to the Datong Prefecture Records from the Daoguang era of the Qing Dynasty, the temple was destroyed during the Jiang? Rebellion but was later rebuilt on its original site. The original layout of the temple is no longer clear, and only the Mahavira Hall remains today — a structure built during the Qing Dynasty.

The Mahavira Hall has a "convex" floor plan, featuring a front porch with a width of three bays. The porch has a rolled-canopy, hip-and-gable roof covered with barrel tiles. The main hall is also three bays wide and eight rafters deep, using a five-purlin beam system that spans both front and rear eaves with two central columns. It has a single-eave, gable-and-hip roof covered with barrel tiles. The Mahavira Hall uses relatively large construction materials, and its beams and framework are well preserved. The front porch extends from the main hall, making it a connected "one-hall-one-roll" architectural structure.

Over the course of history, only the Mahavira Hall of Kaihua Temple remains today. This hall, dating back to the Ming and Qing Dynasties, has well-preserved beams and framework. The column capitals at the rear eave show distinct rolling curves, while the lotus petal angle braces and the Dinghua meikui arches are exquisitely carved.

In 2016, Datong Kaihua Temple was included in the Fifth Batch of Provincial-Level Cultural Heritage Protected Sites in Shanxi Province.

Source: Shanxi Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau

Further Reading:

· Fifth Batch of Provincial-Level Cultural Heritage Protected Sites in Shanxi Province