Fayun Temple

　　Located in Xibayi Village, 12 kilometers south of Changzhi County, Shanxi Province. It was first built during the Tang Dynasty and underwent renovations in the Song, Yuan, and Ming dynasties. The existing front hall is a structure remaining from the Song Dynasty; the rear hall was rebuilt in the Ming Dynasty but still retains architectural elements from the Yuan Dynasty; the other side rooms and auxiliary halls were all reconstructed in the Ming Dynasty. The front hall’s platform is about 1 meter high, and the main hall is three bays wide, with a six-rafter structure and a gable-and-hip roof. The eaves project quite far, roughly half the width of the secondary bays. The roof has a gentle slope, with relatively large overhanging eaves. All the glazed ridge ornaments are in the Ming Dynasty style and are finely crafted. Only column-top bracket sets are used under the eaves. Inside the hall, the beams and frames are exposed, cut cleanly and precisely, with forms and construction techniques that are entirely characteristic of the Song and Jin periods. The rear hall is slightly larger than the front one, using a single purlin across its entire length. Various scrolling vine patterns are found under the eaves, and while the beams and frames are also exposed, they are mostly made of round timber, continuing the Jin Dynasty construction methods. The interior finishes and the roof ridge ornaments were modified during the Ming Dynasty.