New Chenghuang Temple

　　The New Chenghuang Temple is situated on North Street of Xincheng Township, about 35 kilometers east of Lintan County. It is the only surviving ancient building from the Ming and Qing dynasties in the county. According to legend, the original site was the palace of "Ghost Chapter King," the leader of the Tubo Chansiluo during the Song Dynasty. Another story says that when Kublai Khan, the founding emperor of the Yuan Dynasty, marched south to conquer Dali, he used the Tao-Min area as a rear supply base and stayed here, commonly referred to as the "Golden Throne Hall." In the early Ming Dynasty, Mu Ying renovated the Taozhou Wei City and converted it into a Chenghuang Temple. In the second year of the Tongzhi reign during the Qing Dynasty, it was destroyed in warfare and rebuilt in the eighth year of the Guangxu reign. It was again burned down during the 1929 "He-Huang Incident" but was later restored. In 1935, the Chinese Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army passed through Lintan County (Xincheng) during the Long March and stationed at the Chenghuang Temple. They established a Soviet government and held the strategically significant Taozhou Conference there.

　　The New Chenghuang Temple boasts a long architectural history and exquisite craftsmanship. It covers an area of over 1,000 square meters. The mountain gate stands on a platform more than four meters high, built from stacked red sandstone blocks. It features a double-eaved hip-and-gable roof, with upturned eaves and tiled roofing. Beneath the eaves, the bracket sets are layered, and the decorative architraves are exquisitely crafted. The mountain gate is connected to the stage, forming a complex structure. Directly to the north is a stone-paved performance area raised one meter above ground, followed by a second-level stage accessible by a two-meter-high flight of steps. The main hall is fitted with patterned windows and partitioned doors, spanning five bays in width and four bays in depth. Its overall form is simple yet robust, elegant and dignified. Behind the main hall lies the rear palace, which originally included various structures such as the bedroom palace, Goddess Palace, Plague God Hall, and Yan Gong Shrine. These were leveled during wartime and now lie as open farmland.