On February 12, we arrived at Taiyuan South Station and took a taxi to Jinci Temple（晋祠）. After checking into the adjacent Jinci Hotel, we strolled over to the temple.

Jinci Temple is located at the foot of Xuanweng Mountain, 25 kilometers southwest of Taiyuan City, Shanxi Province. It is the oldest existing classical ancestral temple and garden architectural complex in China, initially built during the Western Zhou Dynasty to commemorate Tang Shuyu, the founding marquis of the State of Jin, and his mother, Lady Yijiang.

Tang Shuyu（唐叔虞）

The existing structures, including the Hall of the Holy Mother, the Flying Bridge over the Fish Pond, and the Hall of Tribute, are all national treasures. The Hall of the Holy Mother, dating back to the Northern Song Dynasty (984 AD), is one of the oldest wooden structures in China. Jinci Temple also preserves a large number of valuable inscriptions, sculptures, and ancient trees, reflecting the development of ancient Chinese politics, economy, architecture, and culture in multiple fields.

Hall of the Holy Mother（圣母殿）

Flying Bridge over the Fish Pond（鱼沼飞梁）

Hall of Tribute（献殿）

Never Aging Spring（难老泉）

It is the headstream of the Jinshui River, No.1 spring in Jinyang.

Zhou Dynasty Cypress(3000 years old)

The temple and its surrounding park feature numerous beautiful halls and towers.

On February 13, we changed to a hotel in the city center.

We visited Chunyang Palace（纯阳宫） which is located at the northwest corner of May 1st Square. It was originally built at the end of the Song Dynasty or the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty and underwent a large-scale expansion in the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty (1597). It was also renovated multiple times during the Qing Dynasty. The palace currently consists of five successive courtyards, with over 70 halls and chambers arranged along a central axis, blending the characteristics of a Taoist temple and a garden. Chunyang Palace is named after the Tang Dynasty Taoist Lv Dongbin, whose courtesy name is "Chunyang." The main structures within the palace include the Hall of Lv Zu, the Nine Caves and Eighteen Grottoes, and the Hall of the Jade Emperor, among which the Hall of Lu Zu is the principal hall, housing a bronze statue of Lv Dongbin. Additionally, Chunyang Palace now serves as the Shanxi Ancient Architecture Museum, which houses a rich collection of statues and inscriptions dating from the Northern and Southern Dynasties to the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

We both consent that this palace is worth visiting. It feels culturally rich and peaceful simultaneously.

Then we walked to Liu Lane（柳巷） Pedestrian Street where there were a lot of people.

Then we continued walking to Food Street（食品街）, where the crowds were even denser. But that was precisely our goal—to see where the energy and excitement were. It was wonderful to see so many people enjoying life.

We were impressed by the numerous old-style buildings scattered around the city.

On February 14 we visited the Shanxi Museum. 

The Shanxi Museum is located on Binhe West Road in Taiyuan City and serves as the largest center for the collection, preservation, research, and display of cultural relics in Shanxi Province. It currently holds over 500,000 items, among which 40,282 pieces (sets) are designated as valuable cultural relics, including 1,650 pieces (sets) of first-class cultural relics. The collections primarily originate from archaeological excavations since the 1920s and accumulations over the past century. They are especially notable for their bronze ware, porcelain, stone inscriptions, Buddhist sculptures, murals, and calligraphy and paintings.

There is so much information from the visit that I can only show you some of the pictures.

Then we took the high-speed train back to Beijing, which took 2.5 hours.

Taiyuan Station

Check out the videos from our trip: Highlights of Taiyuan

Yours Truly

Angie Guo - Charmission Travel