Jinci Temple Travel Guide

Jinci Temple which is also called Jin Memorial Temple is located 25 kilometers (16 miles) to the southeast of downtown Taiyuan City, and it is a combination of historical cultural relics and beautiful landscapes. The ancient trees provide an eye-catching entrance to this temple.

Beyond this, the numerous halls, cabinets, pavilions and bridges are sure to keep visitors enthralled. Jinci Temple is world-famous because it is an ancient ancestral temple, something which is rare in China.There are three additional wonders that draw people from across the world to the temple.

These are: The Figures of The Maidservants, the Zhou Cypress and the Never Aging Spring. Each of the Figures of the Maidservants that stand in the Saint Mother Hall, colored clay sculptures made during the Song Dynasty (960-1279), rae uniquely designed. Whether these statuettes are washing, sweeping or dancing, they are all sculpted in a vivid and natural way.

Jinci Temple has a long history, which can be traced back to the Western Zhou Dynasty (11th century BC to 711 BC), when King Cheng made his younger brother Yu a leader of one of his states. Yu was an intelligent leader who devoted all his energies to making the state prosperous, so his descendants built a temple for him after his death, in order to honor his achievement.