Er Xian Temple | Sealed for 900 years! The Northern Song Dynasty wooden celestial palace attic

Sealed for 900 years! The Northern Song Dynasty wooden celestial palace attic.⛰️ Shanxi, undisputedly the province with the most national treasures; and Jin southeast is the pearl of ancient architecture in Shanxi. Rare Song Dynasty wooden structures are scattered here like pearls, dazzling to the eye. If you go to Datong Huayan Temple and don't see the Liao Dynasty's small wooden celestial palace attic in the Baoji Teaching Collection, it's okay--the Northern Song Dynasty's celestial palace attic at Er Xian Temple is equally splendid. 📍Xiao Nan Village Er Xian Temple, the fourth batch of national treasures, is located north of Dong Nan Village, Jin Village Town, Zezhou County, Jincheng City, Shanxi Province. It was established in the fourth year of Song Shaosheng (1097) and is dedicated to the Two Immortal Ladies. The main hall of Er Xian Temple is a Song Dynasty relic, with a width of three bays and a depth of four beams, featuring a single-eave Xieshan roof. The hall's dougong brackets are majestic, with a five-bay single-tier single-lower ang structure, adorned with auspicious clouds and auspicious animal paintings, extremely exquisite. 🔴The biggest highlight of Er Xian Temple is the Northern Song Dynasty's small wooden celestial palace attic inside the hall--'Tian Yu Bi Cang', also known as 'Celestial Palace Attic Arch Bridge Bi Cang'. The main niche has three bays with a Xieshan style, with two entrances front and back, and double-eave Xieshan attics on the east and west connected to the main niche. The railings, dougong, outer eaves decorations, and patterns used in the decorations all have the style of the Song Dynasty, making it a typical model of Song Dynasty wooden architecture. In the center of the niche, there are two immortal statues sitting, 2.5 meters high, with 16 attendant statues on both sides, most of which are original works from the Song Dynasty. The rear eave wall still has 9 square meters of scroll landscape and flower bird murals. 🔴When 74-year-old cultural heritage guardian and village secretary--Grandpa Yang opened the door lock for us, everyone was impressed by this divine work of the Northern Song Dynasty. Grandpa enthusiastically recounted the history of the temple, knowing everything here like the back of his hand. I think this is probably the first and last time I will see Grandpa Yang. It is these cultural heritage guardians who have dedicated most of their lives that give the ancient buildings of Shanxi a complete appearance and a human touch. Therefore, during the visit, please also understand and treat these lovely and respectable guardians kindly, because they, like us, only have a passion for ancient buildings 🚗Transportation: No public transportation, only self-driving/hired car/rental car 🎫Ticket: As fate wills