The Beizhen Temple is located on a slope 2.5 kilometers north of Beizhen County, Liaoning Province.
At the Beizhen Temple people offered sacrifices to the Mountain God of Yiwulu Mountain. An ancestral temple was built at the foot of the mountain during the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234). Stone tablets indicate that Beizhen Temple was rebuilt and expanded between 1421 and 1495 during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).
The large-scale Beizhen Temple is 109 meters wide from east to west and 240 meters long from north to south. Main constructions inside the temple include the Yuxiang Hall, Center Hall, Gengyi Hall, Neixiang Hall and Sleeping Hall, all built on a H-shaped high base. In front of these structures are a stone memorial archway, mountain gate, Shenma Gate and belfry; in the back are Xianren Rock and the Cuiyun Screen.
The Yuxiang Hall has five rooms containing imperial books and offerings. Behind the Yuxiang Hall is the Big Hall known as the symmetrical center and also the largest construction in the temple. In the Big Hall — a big, wooden construction with black brick walls and a green glazed tile roof — the imperial family staged sacrificial ceremonies. The hall’s columns and purlins were painted red and contained carved patterns. On the walls are 32 drawings depicting civil and military officials from the Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD) to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). The figures are portrayed in various postures and are remarkably true to life.
Behind the Big Hall are the three Gengyi Halls where people changed clothes before participating in sacrificial ceremonies in the Big Hall. At the back of the Gengyi Halls are three Neixiang Halls where the offerings, joss sticks and candles used by local officials were kept. The Sleeping Hall – the forbidden house of the Mountain God — is located at the back. The large hall was built next to the Big Hall which was enclosed by white stone railings.
A total of 56 stone tablets of the Yuan (1271-1368), Ming and Qing (1644-1911) Dynasties are kept in the temple. Among the tablets, 12 belong to the Yuan Dynasty, 16 to the Ming Dynasty and 28 to the Qing Dynasty. The tablets are very valuable in terms of archaeological study as well as calligraphy.
(Source: en.beijing2008.cn)
