Jiaocheng Guashan Travel Guide

Jiaocheng Guashan | The Smoke Temple listens to the thousand valleys of cypress, the stubborn rock naturally forms the hexagrams. Jiaocheng, located at the foot of Luliang Mountain, is an industrially developed place among the four counties in the plain, with factories everywhere and trucks passing through. But hidden in the mountains on the west side of Jiaocheng is Xuanzhong Temple, one of the Pure Land ancestral courts, which is said to be the first manifestation of Amitabha Buddha in China. Near the city is Guashan Tianning Temple, famous for its cypress trees. The cypress trees of Guashan are known for their age and graceful posture, earning the name "Huangshan Pine, Guashan Cypress." The connotation of "ancient temples hidden in deep mountains" makes this small city near Taiyuan worth a visit. Guashan is the cultural card of Jiaocheng. It is said that the peculiar mountain shape corresponds to the principles of the "Yi" (Book of Changes), hence the name Guashan. Tianning Temple and Guashan Academy are listed as national level six, preserving a complete group of wooden structures from the Ming and Qing dynasties. On the peak of the mountain, there is a stone Buddha hall enshrining Tang dynasty Buddha statues. Therefore, when Tianning Temple was announced as the sixth batch of national key cultural relics protection units, its era spanned from the Tang to the Qing dynasties. What attracts attention in Guashan is none other than Tianning Temple and the thousand-year-old cypress trees growing all over the mountain. Only trees over a thousand years old are qualified to be tagged. The ancient cypress trees are dense, making it a pure land on earth. Guashan currently does not charge an entrance fee, but you can choose to take a scenic shuttle bus to skip the hiking trail to Tianning Temple. For those who are short on time, it is better to leave the hiking opportunity to the local leisure visitors. After passing through the mountain gate, you will face the Thousand Buddha Pavilion built over brick caves. The courtyard between the Thousand Buddha Pavilion and the mountain gate preserves a large number of steles, among which a late Ming iron stele is quite rare. Walking down the dark and steep steps under the Thousand Buddha Pavilion to the Daxiong Hall, you will suddenly feel enlightened. The ancient cypress trees in front of the hall stand upright or slant out, each with a different posture but all vigorous. The tranquility and solemnity of the ancient temple are evident here. The Daxiong Hall is a relic from the Zhengde period of the Ming dynasty, with five rooms in width and three rooms in depth, and a single-eaved gable roof. The statues of the Three Buddhas inside are works from the Yongle period of the Ming dynasty, with a stable and orderly style. Behind the Daxiong Hall is the Pilu Pavilion, a relic from the Qing dynasty, with three rooms in width and four rooms in depth, and a two-story three-eaved gable roof. Except for the top floor, the other floors do not have dougong (bracket sets). This wooden pavilion is grand and has a lot of appreciation value. Inside, there is a small wooden shrine enshrining the vertical Three Buddhas. Continuing to climb for about twenty minutes, you can reach the Baodeng Wangfo Hall, marked as the Stone Buddha Hall on the scenic map. The hall is a relic from the Chenghua period of the Ming dynasty but has undergone major repairs, so it lacks much ancient charm. The Tang dynasty stone Buddha inside the hall is very majestic, and some murals are preserved on both sides. There is also a miniature Guanyin Hall on a cypress tree here. After leaving the Stone Buddha Hall and descending the mountain back to the back of Tianning Temple, walk to the right facing the back wall of the temple to reach the Pagoda Forest, which has twenty-two tomb pagodas and is a secluded place in Guashan. Following the path beside the Pagoda Forest down the mountain, you will return to the right side of the Tianning Temple mountain gate. Next to Tianning Temple is Guashan Academy, which can be visited along the way.