The Shuangta Temple in the southern suburb of Taiyuan is a landmark building in Taiyuan, and it is also the theme pattern on the emblem of Taiyuan. Shuangta Temple, formerly known as Shuangta Temple, was built in the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty (1597- 1602). Because there are two pagodas in the temple, it is commonly known as the Twin Pagodas Temple. Nowadays, locals are used to calling it Shuangta Temple, but they are not familiar with its original name.
The architectural pattern of Shuangta Temple is not complicated. It consists of front yard, back yard and tower yard. The famous "Twin Towers" are in the tower courtyard. The gate of Shuangta Temple is opposite to that of most temples facing south. The gate of Shuangta Temple faces north. After entering the gate, tourists walk from north to south. During the tour, they can see the Mahatma Hall, the Monument Gallery and the Twin Towers in turn. These three places are the most worth seeing in the temple. The main hall of Shuangta Temple is made of brick and wood. The whole building has no beam frame, no wood, all made of bricks, and the brick carving is fine and generous. Entering the Mahatma Hall, you can see that there are three Buddha statues enshrined in the hall: Amitabha Buddha and Sakyamuni Mountain.
Among them, Amitabha is a bronze statue, and the other two are iron statues. It can be seen that these three Buddha statues are not authentic in the temple, but moved from different places. The main hall of Shuangta Temple has a two-story structure. From the east side of the main hall, there are steps to climb to the second floor. There is a "Three Sages Pavilion" on the second floor, which contains three great masters, Guanyin, Manjusri and Pu Xian. These bodhisattva statues were also moved from other temples. If you come to Daxiong Hall in May, you can also enjoy the century-old peony planted in the Ming Dynasty, named "Zixiaxian". It is rooted in the square flower bed in front of the Hall of Great Heroes, and has been in full bloom here for more than 300 years. It is also a great pleasure for Taiyuan citizens to enjoy peony in Shuangta Temple. On the way from the Ursa Major Hall to the Tayuan, there is a gallery, including a "stele gallery". If you are a calligraphy lover, you must come here and have a look. Here, you can see the inscriptions on the wall of the stele gallery, including the iron of Tang Valley in Ming Dynasty, Gu Tie in Qing Dynasty, and Su Dongpo's drunken stone carving "Red Cliff Nostalgia" in Qing Dynasty. Among them, Su Dongpo's calligraphy "Red Cliff Nostalgia" was inscribed in the 27th year of Qianlong (1762). It is said that there are only two sites preserved in China at present, and the other is located in Chibi, Dongpo, Huangzhou, Hubei.
When you come to the southernmost pagoda of the temple, two ancient pagodas come into view completely. Both towers are masonry structures, 60 meters apart. The carvings on the tower are very beautiful and well defined. This one was first built in the southeast (East Pagoda, also known as Wenfeng Pagoda), but it was not a stupa. It is a "Feng Shui Tower" built to make up for Taiyuan's "high northwest and low southeast" which is not conducive to cultural development. When it was built, it tilted slightly to the northwest. It is said that the designer deliberately tilted to the northwest to ensure the stability of the tower, considering that the tower is located in front of Dongshan Mountain and faced with the impact of northwest wind. This is the post-built pagoda (Wenxuan Pagoda) in the northwest. Because it is located in the northwest, it is also called "West Tower" or "North Tower" for short.
It was directed by Master Miao Feng, a famous monk in Wanli period of Ming Dynasty. It is also called Wenxuan Pagoda, or stupa, because there are Buddhist relics in it. The West Building (Wenxuan Building) was mostly destroyed in the Liberation War, and now it is rebuilt in the 1980s. If you are interested, you can climb the tower. However, it is suggested that you don't have to climb the tower, because with the local air conditions, you can climb the tower and look around, which is also foggy.
Ticket time
20 yuan in summer and 15 yuan in winter (half price for students and free for soldiers).
traffic survey
You can take bus No.812, No.820 and No.873 and get off at Shuangtasi Station.