The Xiyue Temple sits at the east end of Yue Town, about 1.5 kilometers east of Huayin County, Shaanxi Province.
Huashan Mountain, known as Xiyue (the west mountain) in ancient times, is one of the famous Five Mountains in China. Standing in the south of Huayin County in Shaanxi Province, Huashan Mountain faces the Yellow and Weihe rivers in the north and joins Qingling Mountain in the south, with a height of 2,100 meters above sea level. Huashan Mountain is famous for its towering and precipitous peaks. Temples and pavilions built on the mountain all have natural and marvelous landscapes. Historic sites, such as the old Xiyue Temple, the most famous site, can be found on the mountain.
The Xiyue Temple was built about five kilometers from the foot of Hua Mountain during the time of Emperor Wudi of the Western Han Dynasty (206BC-8AD). The temple later became a place where emperors of the past dynasties held sacrificial ceremonies to Huashan Mountain. The present constructions were all built during the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, including the Haoling Gate, the Wumen Building, the Lingxing Gate and the Haoling Palace. The Haoling Gate is the temple gate, and the Wumen Building is located behind it. Both of the structures were built on a high base in a style resembling a city gate tower. Passing through the Wumen Building is the outer courtyard of the temple with the Lingxing Gate at its center — a wooden memorial archway. Verdant and luxuriant pines and cypress trees grow in the inner courtyard with lakes and jagged rocks that make the temple resemble a garden from the south. Emperors who came to Huashan Mountain usually stayed at the Haoling Palace, the temple’s main hall. A number of stone tablets are kept in the temple, providing important material for historical study.
(Source: chinaculture.org)