Huaipai Temple

Huaipai Temple

Huaipai Temple is a cultural relic protection unit of Yangqu County.

Huaipai Temple, also known as Pilu Temple, is a key cultural relic protection unit of Yangqu County. It is located southeast of Zhongbing Village, Nitun Town, Yangqu County. According to inscriptions on the steles: during the 44th year of the Wanli era in the Ming Dynasty (1616), the 55th year of the Kangxi era in the Qing Dynasty (1763), the 48th year of the Qianlong era (1783), the 26th year of the Daoguang era (1864), and the 13th year of the Guangxu era (1887), the temple underwent renovations. It covers an area of 2,007 square meters.

Huaipai Temple is a Buddhist temple dedicated to Vairocana (also known as Mahavairocana or the Great Sun Tathagata), hence it is also called Pilu Temple. “Pilu” comes from Sanskrit, meaning “universal illumination.” There are many Pilu Temples across different regions. The Pilu Temple (also known as Huaipai Temple) in Nitun Town, Yangqu County, is said to have been built during the Ming Dynasty, with a history of around 700 years. Thanks to renovations over the dynasties, the temple remains largely intact.

The temple faces south and is built on an earthen platform about 10 meters high, covering an area of 1,350 square meters. It currently has more than 30 halls, all of which are generally well-preserved. There is an outer protective wall, and visitors can walk up a gentle slope to reach the temple. The mountain gate is a single-eave xieshan-style small building, with bell and drum towers on either side. These are brick-built pavilion-style structures with arched gateways at the base, windows on three sides, and small-style cross-capped wooden pavilions on top.

The temple follows a three-courtyard layout. Along the central axis are, in sequence, a theater stage, mountain gate, Goddess Hall, and main hall. On both sides are bell and drum towers, east and west side halls, and wing rooms. Inside the temple, there is one Ming Dynasty stele recording renovations, as well as eight Qing Dynasty steles related to renovations and donations. The Goddess Hall is a Qing Dynasty structure. It sits on a brick foundation, is three bays wide and six rafters deep, with a single-eave flush-gable roof covered in cylindrical tiles. It features a seven-rafter front porch framework, with four-panel lattice doors on the front eaves of the central and side bays. The column bases are of the inverted-bowl type. The interior walls on both sides and the rear eave wall feature ink-wash landscape murals covering 15 square meters. The main hall is a Ming Dynasty structure. It also sits on a brick foundation, is three bays wide and six rafters deep, with a single-eave hanging-gable roof covered in cylindrical tiles. It has a seven-rafter front porch framework, with bracket sets of five tiers featuring single upward and downward projections.

In the past, due to its use as a school, many of the doors and windows were modified.

Zhongbing Village: Located 2 kilometers south of Nitun Town, Yangqu County, Zhongbing Village in Yangqu County is well-known for its “Zhongbing Crisp Pears.” It is situated adjacent to Quanxin Line, with all major village roads paved, making transportation very convenient. According to statistics, the village currently has 262 farming households, divided into 10 villager groups, with a total population of 764 people, including 350 laborers and 23 Party members (including 3 female Party members). The village has a total cultivated land area of over 2,900 mu, including over 400 mu planted with pear trees, over 400 mu with fruit trees, and over 400 mu under conversion from farmland to forest. The village committee office building was constructed in 2000, with a total area of 150… More detailed information about Zhongbing Village++