Left Stream Tianchi Temple

　　Left Stream Tianchi Temple, located in Lixin Village, Zengxi Township, 15 kilometers southwest of the county town, is famed far and wide for its “auspicious lotuses on the heavenly pond” and is one of the ancient eight scenic spots in the county. According to inscriptions on site, the temple was first built in the first year of the Shaoxi era (1190) during the reign of Emperor Guangzong of the Southern Song Dynasty. It was destroyed during the liberation period and later repurposed as a school. Six stone tablets from the Qing Dynasty, spanning the Qianlong to Daoguang eras, have been discovered at the site, all of which are merit steles. The most precious find is a record tablet from the 23rd year of the Chenghua era in the Ming Dynasty, which bears a seven-character regulated poem praising the eight scenic views of Tianchi—its poetic imagery is lofty and its parallelism exquisitely refined. There are also two ancient osmanthus trees on the site, both thriving vigorously.

　　About 50 meters below the site lies a five-mu-large pond. Its water has been drained by local farmers, and now it is overgrown with weeds, long gone is the once breathtaking view of the “auspicious lotuses on the heavenly pond.” The site is surrounded by overlapping peaks, shaded by bamboo and woods, presenting picturesque scenery.