Golden Temple Park, or Jindian Park (simplified Chinese: 金殿公园; traditional Chinese: 金殿公園; pinyin: Jīndiàn Gōngyuán), is located on the Mingfeng Mountains, seven kilometers to the east of Kunming city. Golden Temple is the largest Taoist (bronze-tiled) temple in China and has been preserved almost completely since it was first built. It is cast entirely in bronze weighing about 250 tons.
The hills around the temple abound with evergreen pines and hardy cypresses, adding beauty to the superb scenery. This scenic wonderland, surrounded by verdant hills and enveloped by mists can be seen dimly from a distance. By the Qing Dynasty, the place had been acclaimed as the Fairyland of Mingfeng.
Golden Temple Park
Golden Temple Park (Jindian gongyuan) includes two of Kunming’s most notable temples. Taihe Temple is Yunnan’s most active and important Taoist temple. The Golden Temple, from the Ming Dynasty, also Taoist is made almost entirely of bronze, weighing 280 tons, and is the heaviest and best preserved of China’s four largest bronze temples.
History
The history of the Golden Temple starts during the Ming Dynasty and the reign of the Emperor Wanli in 1602. At that time the governor of Yunnan Province was a devout Taoist who built this temple to honor the Taoist hero-god Zishi. According to legend, Zishi had a golden palace in the northernmost extremity of the universe. But the Golden Temple didn't stay in its original place for very long. Just 35 years later, in 1637, the entire original temple was moved to Jizu (Chicken Foot) Mountain in western Yunnan. Three decades later in 1671 during the Qing Dynasty, Wu Sangui, the governor of Yunnan Province, built an exact duplicate of the original temple. This temple was undisturbed for almost two hundred years until the Muslim rebellion of 1857, during which the Golden Temple suffered some damages. Emperor Guangxu ordered its complete repair and in 1890, using 250 tons (246 gross ton) of solid bronze, the entire temple was again rebuilt. Except for the staircases and balustrades, which are made of marble, the walls, columns, rafters, roof tiles, altars, Buddha statues, wall decorations and the banner near the gate tower are all made of copper. The burnished copper gleamed like gold and that is why people named it the Golden Temple. Since its last renovation, this beloved copper temple on the top of Mingfeng Hill has been well cared and has become the most famous Taoist shrine in Yunnan Province.
The Golden Temple was first built in the 30th year of Emperor Wanli's rule (1602) in the Ming Dynasty. Yunnan was ordered to send the bronze ore from Dongchuan to central China to make coins. But a war blocked the road. The governor of Yunnan, Chen Yongbing, and Qianguogong, the Duke of Guizhou Province, Mu Changzuo, ordered that the bronze be used to build a temple in imitation of the Taihe Palace and the Golden Temple on Tianzhu Peak in the Wudang Mountains, Hubei Province. The temple was later moved to the Jizu Mountains in western Yunnan. During the reign of the Qing Emperor Kangxi (1662-1722), Wu Sangui, a military general, rebuilt the temple, keeping the original Hubei design. The bronze used weighed over 200 tons. The temple walls were made with cast panels covered with exquisite and diverse designs. They are examples of the smelting and casting techniques in Yunnan a few centuries ago.
In front of the staircase outside the Golden Temple, the wide branched camellias are called "Diechi" (Butterfly Wings). They are covered with thousands of flowers in the depth of winter. The two myrtles close by were planted in the Ming Dynasty.
At the top of the mountain behind the temple hangs a 14-ton "Great Bell of the Ming Yongle Era". 2.1 meters tall and 6.7 meters in circumference, the bell was cast in the 21st year of the Yongle era (1424), over 560 years ago. It used to hang in Xuanhua Mansion in Kunming to announce the time. When Kunming expanded however, it was moved to the Golden Temple. In recent years, the Temple has been expanded several times when the "Parrot Garden", the "Camellia Garden", and the "Orchid Garden" were added.
Behind the Golden Temple, there is a three-story-high Bell Tower that was built in 1984 to house a large, 580-year-old copper bell which is three point five meters (16.4 feet) high and weighs an incredible 14 tons (13.7 gross tons).
The hillside around the Golden Temple abounds with pine trees, evergreens, hardy cypresses, and a multitude of plants. As far back as the Qing Dynasty, the natural beauty of Mingfeng Hill has caused it to be acclaimed as the Fairyland of Mingfeng. The Golden Temple is only 11 kilometers (7 miles) from Kunming and is easily accessible by public transportations.
Golden Temple Park sprawls for more than 133.3 hectares on the Mingfeng Mountain eleven kilometers northeast of Kunming. The most interesting attractions in the Golden Temple Park are the Taihe Palace and the Golden Temple.
Taihe Temple is the most important and active Taoist temple in Yunnan. Atop the front gate, is a large horizontal board inscribed with the Chinese saying "Ying Wu Chun Shen", meaning "Spring abounds on Yingwu Mountain" (the site of the park).
The Golden Temple was built in times of the Ming Dynasty, is a national forest reserve with a natural scenery mingled with sites of historical interest and man-made gardens, it is also a large scenic resort in Kunming. In the mid-17th century, it served as residence of a Chinese general assigned with putting down a local rebellion. The gardens around the temple are a common destination for picnics. The temple is the most unique and well known structure in the park. Much of the structure of the temple is built of copper, while its base is white marble. It, like Taihe Temple, is a Taoist temple. However, the special thing about Jindian is the architecture. It is 6.7 meters in height and 7.8 meters in width .The whole temple weighs more than 280 tons, making it not only one of the four largest bronze temples in China, but also the heaviest and best preserved.
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