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Main Hall
A grand and elegant Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) building, the Main Hall is five bays wide (a bay being the space between two pillars) and capped with an overhanging gable roof. Its interior is entirely free of columns, while tall, square chamfered stone columns rise beneath the eaves. Each column stands on a large square base carved in relief with beasts, their heads projecting from the corners. An inscription on the ridge beam reads "The 40th year of the Kangxi reign (1661-1722) of the Qing Dynasty," confirming that the hall was constructed in 1701.
Opera Stage
The Opera Stage stands on a 1-metre-high stone stylobate and is topped with a single-eaved hip-and-gable roof. The waisted section of the stylobate is carved with huasheng boys (celestial boys emerging from lotus blooms), lotuses and intertwined flower motifs, along with an inscription that reads: "On the 15th day of the 10th lunar month in the autumn of the 23rd year of the Dading reign, carved by stonemasons Zhao Xian and Zhao Zhi." This dates the structure to 1183, making it the earliest known opera stage in China.
Nearly square in plan, the stage measures 7.4 meters long and 5.9 meters deep. Four corner columns carry the forehead tie beams, with corner brackets set atop the column heads and two bracket sets placed between them. All the slanting cantilevers are functional, their tails extending under the flat purlins, forming a square framework that supports the roof. Simple yet compact, the structure preserves the key design features of Jurchen Jin Dynasty (1115-1234) theatrical stages.
A rare feature is its presentation of a side gable as the facade. As the oldest existing stage in China, the Opera Stage of Erlang Temple provides invaluable evidence for the study of Jurchen Jin Dynasty architecture and the early development of Chinese opera, holding exceptional cultural and historical significance.
