The Yuan Dynasty hall hidden in a village in Sichuan caught me off guard…

I remember the last time I came to Longmen Town was 15 years ago, back then I was exploring the conglomerate karst cave in the mountains—Longmen Cave. It was a memorable hike; the cave seemed really long, and I walked for a long time without finding the exit. It was also quite boring, as the entire cave had almost no scenic features. A bit off-topic, this time I revisited Longmen Town to see the rarely visited national protected site—the Qinglong Temple Hall. However, the navigation pointed to the old mountain gate of Qinglong Temple, which is no longer open. Later, guided by locals, I found out that the current main gate of Qinglong Temple is at the back of the temple, facing the main road. There is a newly renovated gate here with a small square in front, making access convenient. Today, Qinglong Temple only has a solitary hall left, but it is one of the few surviving Yuan Dynasty buildings in Sichuan with an accurately dated inscription. It is said that there used to be Tang Dynasty ink inscriptions on the golden pillars and beams inside the hall, but they have faded beyond recognition, and even if they were authentic, the Tang elements would be minimal. There is more evidence of its Yuan origin, such as a pair of door lintel stones from the now-destroyed Guandi Hall of the original temple, inscribed with "Dà Yuán Zhìzhèng Ninth Year." Additionally, the roof tiles bear stamps or carvings with era names like "Zhiyuan First Year" and "Zhizheng Twelfth Year, Renchen." At first glance, the Qinglong Temple Hall displays a rugged and simple beauty. The roof curves gently with deep eaves, resembling a large bird spreading its wings to fly. The hall faces east and is square in plan, three bays wide and three bays deep, built with a xieshan-style hip-and-gable roof and a raised beam wooden structure. The beams and purlins are supported by dougong brackets; the eaves feature nine sets of five-purlin dougong, with three sets in the main bay and one set in each secondary bay. What attracted me most inside the hall was not the newly made, somewhat rough statues, but the intricate dougong brackets. These wooden components interlace and extend layer upon layer, like wooden lotuses blooming among the beams. Dougong, a typical feature of Yuan architecture, serves both structural and decorative purposes, perfectly embodying the ancient concept of "using materials appropriately." Overall, Qinglong Temple is of moderate interest, but looking back at the hall, the ancient building and old trees stand silently in the afterglow, as if 700 years of time have frozen here, making it hard not to be moved. This is not a bustling tourist spot but a place where the soul can find peace. 🏠 Name | Qinglong Temple Hall 🎫 Admission | Free ⛳ Address | Qinglongchang, Longmen Township, Lushan County, Ya'an City, Sichuan Province