[2025 Ruicheng Attraction] Travel Guide for Shousheng Temple (Updated Apr)

|Check in at the Eight Ancient Sights of Ruicheng. Shousheng Temple Pagoda was built in the Eastern Han Dynasty and is one of the 19 Ashoka pagodas built when Buddhism first entered China. During the reign of Emperor Shenzong of the Song Dynasty, the pagoda was given the name "Shousheng Temple" and the emperor personally inscribed the temple plaque. Through the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, Shousheng Temple Pagoda has always been a landmark of Ruicheng and is known as the "Morning Bell of the Pagoda Temple," one of the Eight Ancient Sights of Ruicheng. The original staircase in the hollow interior of the pagoda has been destroyed, but traces of calligraphy and paintings remain on the walls. The inscriptions of visitors from the Yuan and Ming dynasties are basically intact, while the 20-square-meter Song Dynasty murals depict the Buddha, Bodhisattvas, and donors with delicate features, strong and smooth lines, and elegant colors. Although the colors have long since faded due to smoke and fire, the painting style is still clearly discernible, making it a rare surviving example of Song Dynasty art. Location: No. 29, Sheli East Street, Ruicheng County, Yuncheng City, Shanxi Province. Transportation: Take bus 109 or Yuncheng bus 109 to Ruicheng Convention and Exhibition Center Station, then walk to this ancient and elegant pagoda.

Shengshou Temple. Shengshou Temple is located on Sheli East Street in Ruicheng County, where the Dharma flows continuously and the virtue shines in all directions, with eminent monks and great virtues emerging from Shengshou Temple. It was founded in the 10th year of Yongping during the Eastern Han Dynasty, and because Shengshou Temple enshrines the true body relics of Buddha Sakyamuni, it became one of the earliest Buddhist holy places in China. The pagoda of Shengshou Temple was built by Emperor Ashoka, originally named Ashoka Temple. The Buddhist pagoda of Shengshou Temple was rebuilt during the Song Dynasty's Tiansheng era (1023—1032), and after more than thirty years of construction, it became a royal building. Its architectural form, as well as the combination of Tang and Song dynasty styles, makes it the oldest, highest-level, and most well-preserved relic pagoda in the country. Ruicheng Guangrenwang Temple, named for the water deity enshrined within and titled 'Guangrenwang', is also known as 'Wulong Temple' due to the original Five Dragon Springs in front of the temple, where spring water gushes out along the temple's foundation. Located at the northern end of Zhonglongquan Village, 3 kilometers north of Ruicheng County in Yuncheng City, Shanxi Province, it faces the Yuan Dynasty Taoist temple Yongle Palace to the southeast. Guangrenwang Temple was founded in the fifth year of the Tang Dynasty's Dazhong era (831 AD). Facing south with its back to the north, the temple covers an area of 4,560 square meters. Inside the temple, there are a stage, wing rooms, and the main hall, surrounded by walls, forming a courtyard layout. The stage is three bays wide and three rafters deep, with simple bracket sets on the column heads, with dragon heads protruding from the central bracket set's large bracket mouth, elephant trunks on both sides, and dragon heads protruding from the bracket mouths between the rafters. In 1965, Guangrenwang Temple was announced by the Shanxi Provincial People's Government as a key cultural relic protection unit of Shanxi Province. On June 25, 2001, Guangrenwang Temple was announced by the State Council of the People's Republic of China as the fifth batch of national key cultural relics protection units.

The Brick Pagoda of Shousheng Temple in Xiangkou, also known as the Shousheng Temple Relic Pagoda or Pagoda Temple, covers an area of about 43.5 square meters and was built in the eighth year of Xining in the Northern Song Dynasty (1075). The Brick Pagoda of Shousheng Temple in Xiangkou is an octagonal thirteen-story pavilion-style brick pagoda, facing south from the north, with a remaining height of about 47 meters. There are brick carvings imitating wooden structures under the eaves of the first to third floors, and the eaves are stacked and receding from the fourth floor. The pagoda's column is broken, and the remaining bowl is covered. The shape and structure of the Brick Pagoda of Shousheng Temple in Xiangkou have the characteristics of the Northern Song Dynasty and have high historical value. On March 5, 2013, the Brick Pagoda of Shousheng Temple in Xiangkou was announced by the State Council of the People's Republic of China as the seventh batch of national key cultural relics protection units.