Temple of the City God
Located in the southeast of Pingyao City, the Temple of the City God is one of the best preserved temples in China .The whole construction is on a grand scale, and covers an area of 7,302 square meters (approx. 8,733 square yards). The temple has a long history and has been renovated several times.
It includes many constructions such as the Hall of the City God, the Theatre Hall, and the Sleep Hall. The Hall of the City God is the court of law of the city god, thus the atmosphere in the hall is serious and gloomy. The city god is sitting upright in the shrine with the judges and ghosts standing to the side. The Sleep Hall is the place where the city god lives with his family dependants. The room downstairs is the place where the city god deals with special legal cases and receives guests, while the room upstairs is the city god's bedroom.
Three main figures are in the shrine to be worshipped. The sculptures in the shrine are delicately carved and symbolize delight and auspiciousness in a cai shen temple. Zaojun is the Cooking god the most respected and reliable of the gods in Chinese people's minds. In order to avoid bad deeds being reported, people prepare a kind of delicious dessert for the cooking god named 'Tanggua'. In the zaojun temple, when spring comes, the 100-year-old clove trees bloom and give off perfume, adding vitality to the temple.
The temple is deeply rooted in religious culture and well reflected in folk customs. It is a special site that tourists should never miss when visiting Shanxi.
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