Hongji Temple

　　Hongji Temple (Fifth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units)

　　Era: Jin to Qing Dynasties

　　Address: Donglianghou Village, Dongliang Township, Wuxiang County

　　Founding date unknown. It was renovated many times during the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties. The existing main hall is in the style of the Jin Dynasty. The rest were rebuilt during the Ming and Qing periods.

　　The temple faces south and has a two-courtyard layout, covering an area of 1,036 square meters. The main structures in the central courtyard include a theater stage, bell and drum towers, the South Hall, the Main Hall, and east and west side halls. The side courtyard mainly houses the Guan Yu Hall. Outside the temple’s gable wall stands a Thousand Buddha Pagoda.

　　The South Hall is three bays wide and two bays deep, with a single-eave hanging hip roof. There are seven bays on each side of the east and west corridors, all featuring flush-gable roofs. The Main Hall, the principal building of the temple, is five bays wide and three bays deep, with a single-eave hanging hip roof. The central bay features a plank door, while the side bays have lattice windows. Below the eaves, the bracket sets on the columns are arranged in a complex pattern, with protruding bracket arms and decorative cloud motifs. The interior beams are richly carved, prominently featuring the Buddhist scripture “The Heart Sutra” and other religious texts. The architectural details are distinctly characteristic of the Jin Dynasty.

　　The Main Hall and the South Hall house a total of ninety-two murals depicting figures, landscapes, and architectural scenery, covering approximately 120 square meters in total, all painted during the Qing Dynasty. The Thousand Buddha Pagoda is square in plan, about 2 meters high, with each side measuring 0.8 meters. Each face of the pagoda is carved with over a thousand seated Buddha figures.