[2025 Hunyuan Attraction] Travel Guide for Yuanjiao Sizhuanta (Updated Jun)

Hunyuan is located in northern Shanxi Province, southeast of Datong City, and is a small city at the foot of Mount Heng. However, this small city has become a popular tourist destination due to its many cultural and historical attractions. How to visit Hunyuan? What to eat in Hunyuan? Where to stay in Hunyuan? Let me tell you. 📍City Transportation: 🛵Hunyuan County is not big. There are bus lines in the urban area, but shared electric bicycles or walking are more convenient. 🚗From Datong City to Hunyuan, you can take the Hunyuan Line 901–1 or the direct bus to the scenic spot. 🏝️Attraction Guide: [One] Yong'an Temple: 💰20 The Hall of the Orthodox Transmission of the Yuan Dynasty, with Ming Dynasty murals inside, including the Face-ripping Ming King. [Two] Round Enlightenment Temple Brick Pagoda: 💰20 A Jin Dynasty brick pagoda with exquisite carvings and an iron phoenix on top that moves with the wind. [Three] Hunyuan Ancient City: Free Quaint and antique, brightly lit, with many snacks and abundant local products. [Four] Hanging Temple: Entrance 💰15, climbing 💰100 A great wonder of the world. The number of climbing tickets is very limited. You can get up early that day and queue at the visitor center to wait for the tickets to be released. [Five] Mount Heng: 💰45 One of the Five Great Mountains. 👍🏻Food Features: As the saying goes, people who live near mountains live off the mountains, and people who live near water live off the water. Hunyuan not only retains the flavor of Datong Shanxi cuisine, but also has the characteristics of wild Hengshan dishes. ✨Hunyuan Jelly: A well-known snack. It is recommended to try the Little Daughter-in-law Jelly and Pang Sao Diliu Jelly restaurants in the city center. ✨Astragalus Mutton: Hunyuan's specialty is astragalus, and Datong's mutton is delicious. Astragalus mutton is a must-try. Beiyue Hengshan Village in Hunyuan City is worth a visit. [House] Where to stay: Hunyuan City is not big, and accommodation is concentrated near the ancient city block. You can also choose the Hengshan scenic area, which is closer to the Hanging Temple. I recommend Hunyuan Apple Light Luxury Hotel (Hunyuan Ancient City Branch). 💗Other tips: ✨Hunyuan is located in a mountainous area with low temperatures, so pay attention to keeping warm. ✨Hunyuan is a popular city during the holidays, with a large number of people, so it is recommended to go to the scenic spot during off-peak hours. ✨Prepare motion sickness medicine to prevent motion sickness.

Yuanjue Temple is located within the Hunyuan Ancient City. The temple itself is not large, but it houses a famous ancient brick pagoda, a structure from the Jin Dynasty. The pagoda's most distinctive feature is the phoenix perched on the lotus-shaped iron pinnacle. This phoenix can rotate with the wind, serving as an ancient weather vane. It is said to be the only remaining ancient phoenix-shaped weather vane in China, also known as a "wind-waiting bird." It is truly exquisite. The brick pagoda is adorned with numerous, beautifully carved reliefs, depicting vivid imagery. While there are no Buddhist statues inside the temple, there are some newer murals. The main attraction is undoubtedly the brick pagoda. There is no entrance fee.

This is an attraction you can visit when you come to the Hanging Temple. It is next to the stunning Yong'an Zen Temple and is a Buddhist temple with a very low presence. But in such a low-key place, there is actually a Jin Dynasty pagoda hidden. Unfortunately, when we arrived here, it was a little after 1 p.m., which happened to be the nap time in Shanxi. The gate of the temple was closed, so we could not enter the temple for a close visit. Fortunately, the pagoda is relatively tall, and its majestic momentum can be felt from a distance.

[○] 100 meters west of Yong’an Temple is a low-key national treasure that should not be underestimated - the Yuanjue Temple Pagoda. [Heart] Yuanjue Temple Pagoda, whose full name is Yuanjue Temple Sakyamuni Relic Pagoda, is the only dense-eaves brick pagoda left in Datong. It currently exists in Yuanjue Temple. Local people call Yuanjue Temple a small temple, perhaps because it is much smaller than the Yong'an Temple next door? But in fact, Yuanjue Temple was probably built much earlier than Yong'an Temple. In the early days when Buddhism was introduced into my country, temples were centered around pagodas, with no other buildings. From the Southern and Northern Dynasties to the Tang Dynasty, temples began to be built because of pagodas, but the architectural layout generally had the pagoda first and the hall second, with the pagoda being the center of the temple. After the Tang Dynasty, the hall gradually became the main focus. Yuanjue Temple has a layout of a tower in front and a hall in the back. As soon as you enter the temple, the Yuanjue Temple Tower stands proudly before your eyes. According to the "Hunyuan Prefecture Chronicles", the Yuanjue Temple Pagoda was built in the third year of Jin Zhenglong (1158 AD) by Monk Xuanzhen. But it is said that Mr. Su Bai once came here to investigate and found an inscription on the tower with the words "The Third Year of Tianhui". In this case, the Yuanjue Temple Tower was 33 years earlier than the official record, at the time of the transition from Liao to Jin. It can be called the last Buddhist pagoda built in the Liao Dynasty. The dating is still controversial. Looking at the Yuanjue Temple Pagoda itself, it also conforms to the characteristics of Liao Dynasty pagodas: a dense-eaves brick pagoda, an external imitation wooden structure, a relatively high first floor of the tower and most of the brick carvings are concentrated on this floor. Brick carvings are also the biggest attraction of the Yuanjue Temple Pagoda. Not only is a woman opening the door seen on a stupa, but there are also 40 statues of various dancers and musicians around the stupa, which are of great value to the study of the singing, dancing and musical instruments of ancient northern Chinese ethnic groups. Unfortunately, due to the Zhi-Feng War and the Japanese invasion, many statues have become blurred and unrecognizable. A brick tower that survived the earthquake intact could not avoid man-made damage. I didn’t know it at the time, but many national treasures I visited later did not escape the same fate. I can only say that I felt both regretful and lucky, with complicated emotions. Another attraction is the migratory birds on the top of the tower, which is said to be a unique case. It is a lightning rod that can also indicate wind direction. There are still murals inside the tower, but they are not open to the public, so we can't see them. Tips: Free admission.

There are several temples named 'Yuanjue Temple' across the country, and it seems there are some in Japan as well. The one in Hunyuan County may not be as famous as the others, but it has a unique feature worth seeing: a nine-story brick pagoda that has stood for a thousand years without collapsing. Interestingly, atop this pagoda is an iron 'Soaring Phoenix' that rotates and moves with the wind. It is said that locals can tell the direction of the wind by observing it. This is perhaps an example of ancient wisdom in meteorology. There is no entrance fee here, and a tour around the temple takes about ten minutes. On weekend nights, the temple is illuminated, making it look very beautiful from a distance.

· 🤎 Location: Located in the ancient city of Hunyuan County, Datong City, right next to Yong'an Zen Temple. Easy to find with navigation. Yuanjue Temple Brick Pagoda · 🤎 Ticket: Free. Yuanjue Temple Pagoda is the seventh batch of national protection, not a commercial scenic area, there is no formal scenic gate, and the gate is not open all year round, you can push open the small door next to it to go in. The temple keeper grandma will ask you for ten yuan, which can be paid by scanning a code or in cash, and if you really don't want to give, you can choose not to. · 🤎 Detailed introduction: The brick pagoda is not majestic, but very durable to look at, built in the third year of Jinchenglong (1158), every detail is finely crafted by artisans, the base of the pagoda has two levels of Sumeru seats, the middle brick carving is very exquisite, with strongmen, flowers, lions, and musicians, from the second to the eighth floor is solid, not climbable, the top of the pagoda spire is a well-preserved bird-shaped weathervane that rotates with the wind, the only existing example. The iron phoenix above the pagoda spire can rotate with the wind, serving as a wind vane and also as a lightning rod. When we went, the pagoda door was not open, not sure if it can be opened usually, the temple keeper spoke with a heavy accent, did not understand. · 🤎 Visiting time: Set aside about half an hour, first walk around the pagoda three times to pray for peace, then take a close look and appreciate. · 🤎 Cars can be parked at the entrance of Yong'an Zen Temple, a three-minute walk away, after eating try the Hunyuan specialty Hunyuan Liangfen.

Hunyuan Yuanjue Temple is located in the north alley of Shiqiao, Hunyuan County, with a width of 49.25 meters from east to west, a length of 65.95 meters from north to south, and covers an area of 3,248 square meters. Inside the temple, there is a brick pagoda of Shakyamuni's sarira, which is an octagonal nine-tiered dense eave style. The base of the pagoda is a brick-built Sumeru throne, the first layer of the pagoda body is about 4 meters high, and each layer above it is proportionally reduced, with harmonious proportions, graceful and lively. The ninth layer suddenly rises, echoing the first layer from afar, and on top of it, the spire is stacked sharply, with an iron phoenix bird standing on top to indicate the wind direction. According to the 'Hunyuan Prefecture Annals' of the Shunzhi era of the Qing Dynasty, the brick pagoda was built in the third year of the Jizhonglong period of the Jin Dynasty (1158), and was repaired multiple times in the fifth year of the Chenghua period of the Ming Dynasty (1469), the fourth year of the Wanli period (1576), and the ninth year of the Xianfeng period of the Qing Dynasty (1859). According to documents from the website of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, in May 2013, the pagoda of Yuanjue Temple in Hunyuan was announced by the State Council as the seventh batch of national key cultural relics protection units. The pagoda of Yuanjue Temple is a landmark building of the ancient city of Hunyuan, and the iron phoenix bird on the pagoda is the only remaining ancient object of 'xiangfeng' (wind direction indicator), which has become a unique item in the country. Because the locals did not know what 'xiangfeng' was, it was mispronounced as 'xiangfeng' (flying phoenix). Yuanjue Temple, commonly known as 'The Small Temple.' According to the 'Hunyuan Prefecture Annals' of the Qianlong era, Yuanjue Temple was built in the third year of the Zhenglong period of the Jin Dynasty (1158) by the monk Xuanzhen. However, judging from some inscriptions from the early Tianhui period of the Jin Dynasty (1123-1135) left on the pagoda, its history should be even longer. In addition, according to the famous archaeologist and distinguished educator in archaeology, Mr. Su Bai, Yuanjue Temple was already in existence, and it might have been abandoned and later rebuilt or extensively repaired by the monk Xuanzhen. As is well known, after the Jin Dynasty destroyed the Liao Dynasty, although the Jin royal family inherited the Liao tradition of venerating Buddhism, there were not many Buddhist pagodas built during the Jin Dynasty, let alone brick pagodas! That's really rare. Today, the brick pagoda in Yuanjue Temple is still well preserved and stands tall, for which we must thank the providence. In misfortune, is there also a one in a million chance of luck? Therefore, its value of existence is even more precious, oh!

🙋 Hi, I am ILee, this is the 9️⃣th travelogue of my trip to northern Shanxi Hunyuan Ancient City It is a 1-hour drive from Datong City, at the foot of Hengshan Mountain. I believe that many people who come to Hunyuan County only visit the Hanging Temple and Hengshan Mountain. Pass by the ancient city of Hunyuan, which has 7 national protected sites Oops, you are confused. 📍Where is Hunyuan Ancient City? Located in Hunyuan County, Datong City, 10 minutes’ drive from the Hanging Temple 🚶 Tour route (half day recommended) Hunyuan Ancient City: Yong'an Temple - Yuanjue Temple - Hunyuan Confucian Temple - Li Yumei Mausoleum 🔍The above 4️⃣ national treasures are all open. Please pay attention to the closing time. The first 3️⃣ are inside the ancient city. Li Yumei's tomb is outside the ancient city. You can rent an electric car at the gate of the ancient city and reach it in 10 minutes. ①Eian Temple The first of the "Ten Ancient Buddhist Temples" in Hunyuan, it was first built in the Jin Dynasty. The three walls of the hall are painted with unique water and land paintings of the three religions of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, filled with figures from the heavenly Buddha world, the divine world and the human world. Because it was once used as a granary, the murals in the hall have been preserved to this day. 🎫20 ② Yuanjue Temple The ancient pagoda of the Jin Dynasty has an iron phoenix with its wings spread out on the top. This so-called "flying phoenix" is actually an ancient weather vane and a very precious object for studying ancient meteorological instruments. ③Confucian Temple First built in the Liao Dynasty, it has a history of a thousand years. The Dacheng Hall has a single-eaved hip roof and yellow-green glazed tiles, retaining the structural features of the Jin and Yuan Dynasties. ④ Li Yumei's Tomb Li Yumei was the governor of the Hedong River during the Daoguang period, and was responsible for the management of the Yellow River. 💌Tips: 1️⃣There are three other national treasures, namely the Lulü Temple, Dayun Temple and Hanging Temple. The first two are far away from the ancient city and are closed. 2️⃣ At the entrance of Li Yumei's mausoleum, every summer evening, you can see men, women, young and old in the county starting a multi-person shuttlecock kicking sport, with extraordinary moves. 3️⃣ It is recommended to rent an electric car after visiting the ancient city and stroll around the ancient city. You can see the majestic Hengshan Mountain, old-style residential bungalows, and local people returning from shopping. It is very peaceful. 4️⃣There are many places to eat around the ancient city, and the little wife jelly is a must. 5️⃣Recommend half a day in the ancient city, one day in the Hanging Temple and Hengshan