Visitor Guide
◽Opening hours: 9 am-6 pm
◽Address: Wangbao village, Sizhuang town, Gaoping, Jincheng, Shanxi province
Overview
The temple's original date of construction is uncertain, though it underwent repairs and renovations over successive eras. Facing south, the complex comprises the Opera Stage, Offering Hall, Main Hall, East and West Lobe Halls, and corridor rooms. The Opera Stage, facing south, is an extant structure from the Jurchen Jin Dynasty (1115-1234), while the other halls date to the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1644). The stage is one bay wide (a bay being the space between two pillars), four rafters deep (the number of tiers of rafters defining the scale of the roof and thus measuring the hall’s depth), and is topped with a single-eaved hip-and-gable roof. An inscription carved on the waisted section of its stylobate reads "The 23rd year of the Dading era...," dating the structure to 1183 and identifying it as the earliest known ancient opera stage in China.