| Â Golden Temple, located on Mingfeng Hill, 11km northeast of Kunming, is also known as Taihe Palace (the Hall of Supreme Harmony) and Tongwa Temple (the Bronze Tile Temple).
The temple was originally built in 1604 during the Ming dynasty. Chen Yongbin, the governor of Yunnan at the time, launched the construction to honor the Daoist hero-god Zishi, who was supposed to live at the northern extremity of the universe. They built a copper temple to represent his palace there, which gleam like gold under sunlight. Hence the name.
After three decades, the temple was transported intact to Mt. Jizu, and later in 1670, a new temple, designed by Wu Sangui, was cast to replace the former one. However the temple was destroyed during the Yunnan Muslim rebellion in the mid-19 century.
Built in 1890 with 250 tons of solid bronze, the present temple, 6.7 meters in height and 7.8 meters in width, is reputed as the largest bronze hall in China. Except staircases and balustrades, which are made of marble, the walls, columns, rafters, roof-tiles, altars, Buddha statues, wall decorations, even the banner near the gate tower, were all made of copper.
In the Golden Temple is still preserved a double-edged sword with the pattern of the Big Dipper on it, which weighs more than 20 kilograms and is thought to be a magic weapon of Zhen Wu, a Daoist deity, to guard the hill.
With natural scenery mingled with sites of historical interest, here became a large scenic resort in Kunming. |
