Jinci Ancestral Temple – Taiyuan City, China
The Jinci (晉祠) or Jinci Temple is an ancient temple complex located in Jinci Town (晋祠镇, Jincizhen), Jinyuan District, 16 miles (25 km) southwest of Taiyuan City, Shanxi Province, China.
It was built in memory of Tang Shuyu, the founding prince of the Jin Dynasty (later posthumously named King of Jin) and his mother, Queen Yi Jiang.
The temple was founded about 1,400 years ago and expanded during the following centuries, resulting in a diverse collection of more than 100 sculptures, buildings, terraces, and bridges.
The best known structure at Jinci is the Hall of the Holy Mother (圣母殿), which was constructed from 1023 to 1032 (992 years ago) during the Song dynasty.
It has carved wooden dragons coiled around the eight pillars that support its upward-curving double-eave roof. The complex includes a classical garden with a 3,000-year-old cypress dating from the Zhou Dynasty.
To the west of Hall of the Holy Mother is a temple dedicated to the deity Shuimu.
In March 1961, Jinci Temple was announced by the State Council as one of the first batch of national key cultural relics protection units.
In 2001, Jinci Museum was rated as one of the first batch of AAAA tourist attractions by the National Tourism Administration.
In May 2009, Jinci Museum was approved by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage as a national second-level museum.
Video Source: 不到晋祠，枉到太原 | 山西 旅游 【China Cradle 山西:华夏文明的摇篮@china_cradle】 from China Cradle 山西:华夏文明的摇篮 on Youtube ⁄ CC BY
