The sky is high and the clouds are light, listening to the wind of the northern frontier at Yanqing Temple

Yanqing Temple, an open hall, with vast and boundless mountains behind it. The weather was particularly good that day, the sky was blue as if washed, and the resting clouds bloomed quietly like white lotus flowers, making the place even more outstanding. At noon, although the sun was intense, the weather in northern Shanxi was not as sultry as in the south. Coupled with the northern wind blowing from beyond the Great Wall, it was not tiring, and even if you sweated, it would dry quickly. 📜About Yanqing Temple Only the main hall remains, and its age is untraceable. Based on its architectural style, it is inferred to be a wooden structure from the Jin Dynasty. The roof slope is gentle, the eaves extend freely, the eaves curve beautifully, and the thick side walls taper inward, with harmonious proportions, completely exceeding my aesthetic expectations. If it weren't for visiting Foguang Temple, who would know of its existence? It is said that the stupa inside the hall was stolen earlier, and it stopped being open to the public. When I went, new buildings had already been constructed around it, and many students from Xi'an were sketching inside. 📝Professional Knowledge The main hall of Yanqing Temple is three bays wide, with a nearly square floor plan. It is a wooden structure with six purlins and a hip-and-gable roof. In terms of architectural style, the techniques of the eaves, intercolumnar brackets, diagonal braces, and camel hump are similar to those of the Manjusri Hall of Foguang Temple within the same region. The long purlins and the eaves brackets shaped like elephant trunks are also similar to the techniques used in the Amitabha Hall and Guanyin Hall of Chongfu Temple. 📸Recommended Highlights The stupa from the second year of Jingyou in the Northern Song Dynasty (1035), standing on a lotus base. The upper half of the stupa was stolen by thieves in 2011; The beast heads on the column tops of the main hall are particularly distinctive, resembling the masks used in southern Nuo opera, identical to the beast heads seen in the main hall of Guangji Temple in Wutai County. 🎫Tickets: Free, open all year round 🚖Transportation: Taxi is best, navigate to County Road 002, Wutai County, Xinzhou City 🐝Ancient Architecture Tour Route: Hongfu Temple - Yanqing Temple - Nanchan Temple - Guangji Temple - Foguang Temple