Five-Dragon Wall at Shanhua Temple

Five-Dragon Wall at Shanhua Temple

The Five-Dragon Wall at Shanhua Temple is a cultural tourism attraction.

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The Five-Dragon Wall is 7 meters high and 1.48 meters thick, divided into three sections: upper, middle, and lower. The lower part is a Sumeru pedestal, carved with over ten kinds of animals such as oxen, horses, snakes, rabbits, deer, dogs, lions, elephants, pangolins, and foxes, each in vivid and lifelike poses; the central section has a broad wall surface adorned with five four-clawed golden dragons soaring through clouds and mist, exuding a dynamic, leaping spirit. The central golden dragon is the focal point of the Five-Dragon Wall—its head faces forward, tail swaying, scales glistening, presenting a distinctive charm. On either side are two symmetrically arranged dragons, with the middle dragon slightly paler in color, as if descending from the heavens to bring rain. The dragons on the north and south sides have slightly coiled bodies, heads held high, poised to take flight. The top section mimics traditional wooden architectural styles, with glazed tiles on top and supported by glazed brackets below. At both ends are ornamental ridge beasts. The Five-Dragon Wall is located on the west side of the Heavenly King Hall at Shanhua Temple, in the southwest corner of Datong City. Originally, it served as a screen wall in front of the mountain gate of Xingguo Temple and was built during the Ming Dynasty's Wanli era. In 1980, it was relocated to Shanhua Temple.

This wall was originally a screen wall in front of the mountain gate of Tianzhu Temple in Sandao Yingfang Lane on Dabeijie Street. Built in the late Ming Dynasty, it was also a colorful glazed Five-Dragon Wall. Its style is similar to that of the Xingguo Temple Five-Dragon Wall. Due to the risk of collapse, it was dismantled in 1978, and the original is now preserved within Shanhua Temple.

This Five-Dragon Wall is situated at the intersection of Cross Street and Maying Street. It is the only surviving brick-carved dragon wall among the existing dragon walls in Datong. Judging from its sculptural style, it dates back to the Qing Dynasty. It stands in front of the former site of the Confucian Temple of Datong County during the Ming Dynasty (now the Datong Maternal and Child Health Hospital) on Daqianghou Street.

This dragon wall features a unique structure and distinctive design. The wall is a single-sided brick carving, measuring 28.5 meters in length and 5.7 meters in height. The entire wall consists of three parts: the base, the main body, and the top. The central main body is constructed from paired blue bricks, featuring five high-relief round brick dragons, each with a diameter of 2.20 meters. The top resembles a single-eave, five-ridged wooden structure, with glazed ridge beasts at the ends of the main ridge. The structure is supported by twenty-five sets of brick-carved brackets, beneath which hangs a curtain-like layer of brick-carved drapery, approximately 0.4 meters wide, draped above the dragon wall.