Yuntai Temple, Santai三台云台观

Type

Temples and Abbeys (Gongguan)

Location

China · Sichuan · Santai, Mianyang · Yuntai Mountain, Anju Town, Santai County

Coordinates

30.9, 105.1 Map ↗

School

Quanzhen (Complete Perfection) Daoism

First built

1210, the 3rd year of the Jiading era, Southern Song · Enshrines Zhenwu; repeatedly repaired in the Ming and Qing; the surviving Ming and Qing architectural complex is one of the largest Daoist temples in northern Sichuan

Heritage status

Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level (2013)

Overview

The Yuntai Temple is located on Yuntai Mountain in Santai County, Mianyang. Founded in the third year of the Jiading era of the Southern Song (1210), it echoed the Wudang Mountains from afar in the Ming dynasty through its enshrinement of the Great Emperor Zhenwu; the Yongle and Zhengde Emperors of the Ming both bestowed inscribed tablets on it, and it ranked foremost in scale among the Daoist temples of northern Sichuan. The surviving buildings ascend the hillside along a central axis, including the Hall of Demon Subjugation, the Xuantian Palace, the Sanhuang Temple, the Scripture Library, and the Hall of the Blue Dragon and White Tiger, most of them rebuilt from the Wanli era of the Ming through the Qing, with well-preserved timber construction, stone carving and painted decoration; among them, the Ming-dynasty 'Record of the Splendor of Yuntai' stele records the history of its construction. The temple houses cultural relics including Ming-dynasty imperial edicts and scripture scrolls. The Yuntai Temple is a Sichuan Provincial Cultural Heritage Site, and was designated a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level in 2013.

Highlights

• Xuantian Palace
• Ming-dynasty imperial edicts
• Ming and Qing architectural complex