Yuquan Temple, Tianshui天水玉泉观

Type

Temples and Abbeys (Gongguan)

Location

China · Gansu · Tianshui · At the foot of Tianjing Mountain, Qinzhou District

Coordinates

34.59, 105.72 Map ↗

School

Quanzhen (Complete Perfection) Daoism

First built

Tang (according to one account, built in 1299, the 3rd year of the Dade era, Yuan) · Built by the Quanzhen priest Liang Zhitong in the Yuan, expanded in the Ming and Qing; surviving Yuan-, Ming-, and Qing-dynasty buildings and the Yuan-dynasty Stele of the Four-Sided Transmission of Daoism

Heritage status

Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level (2006)

Overview

The Yuquan Temple, Tianshui, stands at the foot of Tianjing Mountain north of the city; it was built under the direction of the Quanzhen priest Liang Zhitong in the third year of the Dade era of the Yuan (1299) — though one account holds a temple already existed here in the Tang — and was repeatedly expanded through the Ming and Qing into a complex of more than ninety halls climbing up the mountainside, the largest Daoist temple in southeastern Gansu. Its Hall of the Three Pure Ones, Yuhuang Pavilion, and Wenchang Palace preserve Yuan-, Ming-, and Qing-dynasty timber structures; the Jade Spring Well is said to grant longevity to those who drink from it; and the temple holds the especially precious Yuan-dynasty 'Stele of the Four-Sided Transmission of Daoism' (recording the spread of Quanzhen Daoism in eastern Gansu) and a stele in cursive script by Zhao Mengfu. The 'Temple Pilgrimage' fair, held on the ninth day of the first lunar month each year, is a Tianshui folk tradition. The temple was designated a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level in 2006.

Highlights

• Hall of the Three Pure Ones
• Yuan-dynasty Stele of the Four-Sided Transmission of Daoism
• Stele in the calligraphy of Zhao Mengfu
• Temple pilgrimage fair on the ninth of the first month