Yongle Palace 永乐宫Yǒnglègōng

Why go to Yongle Palace

Just north of Ruicheng town in Shanxi's far south-west, Yongle Palace (gong, 'palace', is a title for major Taoist temples) is dedicated to the immortal Lü Dongbin and holds about 1,000 square metres of murals from the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368). Walk north from the gate to the Hall of the Three Pure Ones, where a procession of nearly 300 deities fills the walls, then on to the Chunyang and Chongyang halls, where the lives of Lü Dongbin and the Taoist master Wang Chongyang unfold in strip-cartoon-like scenes.

The story

When the Sanmenxia Dam on the Yellow River was set to flood its original site at Yongle town, the whole temple was taken down and rebuilt about 20 km away between the late 1950s and the mid-1960s. The murals were cut from the walls in sections, carried to the new site and pieced back together.

What to see at Yongle Palace

• Wuji Gate 无极门（龙虎殿）: Also called the Dragon-and-Tiger Hall, this was the original palace gate of the Yuan dynasty. Its murals begin the temple's painted programme.
• Hall of the Three Pure Ones 三清殿: The largest hall. Its Chaoyuan Tu mural, finished in 1325, runs for nearly 95 metres around the walls with deities taller than two metres, and glazed dragon ridge-ends of about three metres crown the roof.
• Chunyang Hall 纯阳殿: The walls tell the life of Lü Dongbin in 52 scenes, painted in 1358, like a long picture-strip you follow from one wall to the next.
• Chongyang Hall 重阳殿: The last of the main halls, painted with 49 scenes from the life and teaching of Wang Chongyang, founder of the Quanzhen school.
• Lü Gong Shrine and stele gallery 吕公祠与碑廊: In the west courtyard stands a shrine to Lü Dongbin, rebuilt here in 1959, and a stele gallery runs between the first two gates, gathering the inscribed stones that were moved with the complex.

How to visit Yongle Palace

Enter through the Qing-era gate hall and walk north along the central axis through the Wuji Gate, the Three Pure Ones, Chunyang and Chongyang halls in that order. The side courtyards to the west hold the Lü Gong shrine and relocated stelae. Two to three hours is enough, and since the halls are dim, linger in the Three Pure Ones first.

How to get to Yongle Palace

Take high-speed rail to Yuncheng North (about 1 hour from Xi'an North or 2–2.5 hours from Taiyuan South), then a taxi or hired car south over the Zhongtiao Mountains to Ruicheng, about 1–1.5 hours. Buses also run from Yuncheng to Ruicheng town, about 3 km south of the temple.

Where to stay

Stay in Yuncheng city, which has the high-speed station, or in Ruicheng county town about 3 km south of the temple for an early start in front of the murals.

What to eat

• Xiezhou lamb soup with bread 解州羊肉泡馍: Torn flatbread in a lamb soup simmered with meat and bones in an iron pot, a classic of the Yuncheng area.
• Wenxi boiled cakes 闻喜煮饼: A round sesame-coated pastry fried and dipped in honey syrup, said to stretch in sweet threads when broken; one of Shanxi's eight famous pastries from Wenxi county.

Tips for visiting Yongle Palace

• Photography is not allowed in the mural halls, and the interiors are dim, so give your eyes time to adjust.
• Halls close from time to time for mural conservation, so check the scenic area's notices before you go if one hall matters to you.
• The Guandi Temple at Xiezhou is a short detour on the drive back to Yuncheng.

Nearby

• Xiezhou Guandi Temple 解州关帝庙 30 km
  Gateways, halls and towers honouring the deified general Guan Yu in his home district
• Yuncheng Salt Lake 运城盐湖 40 km
  Brine ponds that turn red, pink and green in summer, below the Zhongtiao Mountains
• Mount Hua 华山 60 km
  Sheer granite peaks, stairways cut into cliffs and a notorious plank walk
• Hancheng Old Town and Dangjia Village 韩城古城·党家村 90 km
  Ming temples in an old county town and a village of grey-brick Ming–Qing courtyard houses

Also within 30 km: Five Dragons Temple 广仁王庙 (under 10 km), Shousheng Temple Brick Pagoda, Ruicheng 巷口寿圣寺砖塔 (under 10 km), Ruicheng City God Temple 芮城城隍庙 (under 10 km), Dayudu Yellow River Scenic Area 大禹渡 (under 10 km), Wulao Peak, Yongji 五老峰 (10 km), Qingliang Temple, Ruicheng 清凉寺 (10 km).

On the map

Open Yongle Palace on the illustrated map to see the terrain around it, what else is close, and to add it to a trip and plan the days.

Learn more

• Wikipedia
• Wikipedia (Chinese)