Introduction to Huangling Temple in Three Gorges Tourism

Introduction to Huangling Temple in Three Gorges Tourism

Huangling Temple, formerly known as Huangniu Temple or Huangniu Lingying Temple, is the only well preserved ancient architectural complex in the Three Gorges region of the Yangtze River, mainly built to commemorate the Yu Wang Hall, which was built to control the floods by Yu the Great. It is located under Huangniu Rock in Sandouping Town, Yiling District, Yichang City, Hubei Province, on the south bank of the Yangtze River in Xiling Gorge, 620 kilometers away from Chongqing city. It is the largest ancient architectural complex in the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River. The buildings of Huangling Temple are quaint, the Yuwang Hall is magnificent, and the four characters "Ancient Huangling Temple" on the temple gate are skillfully calligraphed with vigorous strokes.

Here, there are a large number of precious hydrological relics and physical data related to the water level of the Yangtze River Three Gorges catastrophic flood. In a sense, this is also a hydrological database of water level changes in the Yangtze River Three Gorges region. These materials provide important historical hydrological basis for the Gezhouba Water Conservancy Hub Project and the Three Gorges Water Conservancy Hub Project on the Yangtze River.

Huangling Temple still preserves cultural relics from the Neolithic Age to the Shang and Zhou Dynasties: hundreds of poems, songs, and travel inscriptions left by literati and scholars such as Zhuge Liang, Li Daoyuan, Lu You, Su Shi, Ouyang Xiu, Wang Shizhen, and Li Ba from the Han, Tang, and Song dynasties, praising Huangling Temple and Huangniu Gorge; There are dozens of exhibits such as Huangniu Temple Han Stele, Hydrological Stele, and Chronicle Stele.

The History of Huangling Temple in Three Gorges Tourism

According to legend, Huangling Temple was first built in the Han Dynasty and later destroyed. In the first year of the Tang Dynasty's Dazhong era (847 AD), it was rebuilt and named Huangniu Temple. In the third year of Jingyou in the Northern Song Dynasty (1036 AD), Yu Wang was enshrined and renamed to his current name. Famous figures throughout history, such as Li Bai, Bai Juyi, Ouyang Xiu, Huang Tingjian, and Lu You, have all left behind famous poems and phrases while visiting this place. The Huangling Temple ancient architectural complex covers an area of over 100000 square meters, with a building area of over 4800 square meters. The existing temples include Shanmen, Yuwang Hall, Wuhou Temple, etc., which are built on gradually rising terraces.

The main building, the Yuwang Hall, was built in the 46th year of the Ming Dynasty's Wanli reign (1618). The Yuwang Hall is a double eaved gable mountain top with a width and depth of 5 rooms, a height of about 15 meters, and a double eaved nine ridges. It has blue tiles and red walls, harmonious colors, and a solemn posture. In addition, there are buildings such as the Jade Emperor Pavilion, Wuhou Temple, Tianhui Bridge, Baigu Pagoda, Release Pool, and Yellow Cattle Spring Well distributed around the area. Under the eaves hangs a plaque inscribed with the words "Profound Achievements for All Time", which is said to have been inscribed by Zhu Changrun, the Prince of the Ming Dynasty. The border is embossed with a dragon, flying gold and colorful patterns, making it quite magnificent. The Wuhou Temple and Shanmen are both buildings from the late Qing Dynasty. There is a Gui shaped stone tablet in the hall, which is published in the "Yellow Cattle Temple Record" and is said to have been written by Zhuge Liang. The thirty-six nanmu columns in the hall all preserve traces of the Chengjiang mud from the 1870 flood, which is consistent in level and reaches a height of 37 meters. The flooding has affected the lintel, and the "Xuangong Wan Gu" plaque on the lower eaves has been submerged by 47 centimeters. The columns are black and yellow, and the upper end that has not been submerged by the flood is black, which is the original color; The lower end that has been submerged by the flood is light yellow, and Chengjiang mud still exists in the cracks on the surface of the column to this day. There is a spring behind the temple, which is very clear. In the forty ninth year of the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty (1784), a pool was made of stone, and the gathering of springs is still abundant to this day. The temple is situated in front of the surging river and backed by high rocks like a screen. Surrounded by orange groves, it exudes a magnificent atmosphere and picturesque scenery.

The existing mountain gate of Huangling Temple was rebuilt in the winter of the 12th year of the Guangxu reign of the Qing Dynasty (1886). It is a brick and wood structure building with a through frame style. There are 33 steps and 18 levels of stone steps outside the mountain gate, symbolizing the 33 levels of heaven and 18 levels of hell.

The mountain gate building is located on a riverside terrace at an altitude of 75.56 meters. In the Song Dynasty, there were still two stone horses at the mountain gate. Before the Qing Dynasty's Jiaqing reign, it was known as the "Imperial Edict Tower". In the eighth year of Jiaqing's reign (1803), Zhao Tiankun, a magistrate of Chongqing, saw that the palace wall in the central hall of the Imperial Edict Tower had collapsed due to years of wind and rain. The eunuch Le Sheng advocated for its reconstruction, and the central hall of the Imperial Edict Tower was transformed into a stage, with a stele inscribed with the inscription "Eternal Love" that still exists in the temple today.

Yangtze River Three Gorges boat ticket reservation 【 www.sanxia-china. com 】

Please Comment on the Article Content

Captcha：

Submit Comment