4.7/5
M15***70[Yongle Palace Experience: Journey Through a Yuan-Century Taoist Art Hall] Visiting Yongle Palace in Ruicheng, Shanxi, is a truly breathtaking pilgrimage! Though tucked away in a small town, this Taoist temple, built during the Yuan Dynasty, is breathtaking with its unparalleled mural art and architectural style. 🌟 Highlights: 1. Treasure Murals: The "Chao Yuan Tu" in the Sanqing Hall is a pinnacle of Eastern art—286 deities, 4 meters high, dance in graceful robes, their cinnabar and azurite colors remaining dazzling even after 700 years. Standing within the hall, you can almost hear celestial music and experience the harmony between man and nature as captured by Yuan-Cheng painters. 2. Architectural Marvels: The monumental relocation of the palace in the 1950s for the Three Gorges Project adds to its legendary charm. Walking through the hip-and-gable roofed, Yuan-Cheng wooden structure, you can gaze upon the intricate mortise and tenon joints of the caisson ceiling, and every carved chiwen pattern speaks to the wisdom of the ancients. 3. Immersive Experience: The scenic area utilizes a dark-lighting system, making the details of the murals even more sacred under soft lighting. We recommend renting a guide (a great value at 20 yuan) to understand the subtle metaphors within the legendary story of Lü Dongbin. ⚠️ Notes: • Flash photography is strictly prohibited inside the temple. You can purchase the official album (198 yuan) to collect your own. • It is recommended to enter at 9:00 a.m. to avoid the midday tour group rush. • Combine this with a day trip to the Jiezhou Guandi Temple in southern Shanxi. The most profound feeling of this trip: While modern people are accustomed to fragmented visual stimulation, standing before these murals, the product of a lifetime of labor, I suddenly understood the meaning of "timeless aesthetic shock." Perhaps this is the meaning of cultural heritage: allowing us to connect with the Chinese nation's most magnificent artistic soul through the intersection of time and space.
