Dagaoxuan Hall

　　The Dagaoxuan Hall is located at No. 23 Sanzuo Gate Street, Xicheng District. It was built in the 21st year of the Jiajing reign during the Ming Dynasty (1542) and served as an imperial Taoist temple during both the Ming and Qing dynasties, with many restorations carried out in later years. The hall faces south and covers an area of approximately 13,000 square meters, forming a rectangular shape aligned from north to south. The front features two tiers of three green-glazed, wood-imitating arched gateways. Behind the gates is the entrance hall-like Dagaoxuan Gate. Originally, there were flagpoles in front of the Dagaoxuan Gate (only the stone bases remain today), and bell and drum towers behind. The main hall is called the Dagaoxuan Hall, which has seven bays, a double-eaved roof covered with yellow-glazed barrel tiles in the hip-and-gable style, and a front terrace. There are five-bay side halls on both sides. The rear hall is named the Jiutian Yingyuan Thunder Altar, featuring five bays, with nine-bay side halls on either side. The existing main structures are accessed through three gateways cut into the enclosing wall and protected by stone railings. Inside, there are the Dagaoxuan Gate, bell and drum towers, east and west side halls, the Dagaoxuan Hall, the Jiutian Yingyuan Thunder Altar, and the hip-and-gable roof halls. At the very end is the Qianyuan Pavilion, a two-story building symbolizing the round heaven and square earth. It has a circular, pointed roof covered with blue-glazed tiles, representing the sky, while the lower part, called the “Kunzhen Mansion,” is square and covered with yellow-glazed tiles, representing the earth.

The Dagaoxuan Hall is a national key cultural relics protection unit.