Exploring the Ancient 27 Stunning sites of Shanxi in Black Myth: Wukong
The recently launched game “Black Myth: Wukong” has garnered attention for its highly detailed and authentic portrayal of traditional Chinese architecture. Among the 36 filming locations across various provinces and cities, Shanxi province stands out with 27 stunning sites. Let’s take a closer look at some of these remarkable locations.
Yungang Grottoes·Datong City
One of the three largest Buddhist grottoes in the world, it was carved in the Northern Wei Dynasty. It is the first large-scale grotto group excavated by the royal family since the introduction of Buddhist art into China. The founder was the eminent monk Tan Yao. There are more than 59,000 statues of various Buddhist figures. Combining the carving techniques of Indian Mathura and Gandhara art styles, it records various figures in Buddhism in a relatively systematic and complete manner. The “Open-air Buddha” is one of the representative works.
Hanging Temple·Hunyuan County, Datong City
It was first built in the late Northern Wei Dynasty, more than 1,500 years ago. It is a unique temple that integrates Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. It is the “first scenic spot” among the 18 scenic spots of Hengshan Mountain. The two words “spectacular” on the rock under the temple are the calligraphy of Li Bai, the poet of the Tang Dynasty.
Shanhua Temple·Datong City
It was first built in the Tang Dynasty. The Great Hall of the Liao Dynasty is located on the high platform at the back. It is the largest and most complete Liao and Jin temple in my country. The temple also preserves precious cultural relics such as clay sculptures, murals, and inscriptions, especially the clay sculptures of the 24 Heavenly Kings, which are national treasures.
Jueshan Temple·Lingqiu County, Datong City
It was first built in the seventh year of Taihe of Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty. The entire temple is exquisite and exquisite. There are 134 Zen temples of various sizes, and they are located on three axes. The tower, the well and the mountain are at the same height. It has the reputation of “the tower, the well and the mountain are all (strange)” Jueshan Temple. The tower is 13 stories high, with an octagonal plane, solid bricks with dense eaves, and the bottom floor can be climbed. There is a wooden reclining Buddha inside, murals on the four walls, and brick-carved geishas around the tower base. It is a treasure of Liao Dynasty brick carving art.
Chongfu Temple·Shuocheng District, Shuozhou City
It was first built in the second year of Linde of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty (665), and was supervised by Yuchi Jingde, Duke of Eguo. Among the existing buildings, except for the Amitabha Hall and Shuangyin Hall, which are relics of the Jin Dynasty, all are Ming and Qing Dynasty buildings. The lattice patterns on the doors of the Amitabha Hall are exquisite, and the vertical plaque is the original one from the 24th year of the Jin Dynasty (1184). The hall is a masterpiece of Jin Dynasty architecture.
Yingxian Wooden Pagoda·Yingxian, Shuozhou City
The oldest and tallest existing pure wooden structure pavilion-style building is also a treasure among ancient Chinese buildings and a model of world wooden structure architecture. It has stood tall after thousands of years of wind, rain and earthquakes. The tower houses two sacred objects respected by the Buddhist community all over the world – Buddha tooth relics, which have been confirmed to be the remains of Sakyamuni’s teeth after verification.
Foguang Temple·Wutai Mountain, Xinzhou City
The seven-room East Hall of Foguang Temple is a Tang Dynasty building, the seven-room Manjusri Hall is a Jin Dynasty building, and there are two octagonal Tang Dynasty stone towers. The Tang Dynasty architecture, sculptures, murals, and inscriptions are called “four wonders” by Mr. Liang Sicheng. The East Hall is the third earliest wooden structure in China.
Nanchan Temple·Wutai Mountain, Xinzhou City
The main hall of Nanchan Temple is the oldest existing wooden structure of the Tang Dynasty in China. The Tang Dynasty sculptures in the main hall are exquisite and still maintain their original appearance. They can be called treasures of Tang Dynasty sculpture art. There are also three stone lions and a stone pagoda in the temple, which are also relics of the Tang Dynasty.
Nanshan Temple·Wutai Mountain, Xinzhou City
It was first built in the Yuan Dynasty. The entire temple has 7 floors. Its scale is second to none in Wutai Mountain. There are clay sculptures, stone sculptures, and wood sculptures. Among them, there are nearly a thousand stone carvings of Youguo Temple. The rich content and exquisite carvings are unique in the whole mountain.
Shuanglin Temple·Pingyao County, Jinzhong City
Originally named Zhongdu Temple, it was renamed Shuanglin Temple in the Song Dynasty. The Tang and Song Dynasty steles, Ming bells, ancient buildings, colored sculptures and murals in the temple are all rare treasures. They inherited the fine traditions of colored sculptures in the Tang Dynasty and Song, Liao, Jin and Yuan Dynasties in China, and have a highly realistic style. The colored sculptures in the temple are known as “the treasure house of oriental colored sculpture art”, and the statue of Weituo is one of the finest.
Zhenguo Temple·Pingyao County, Jinzhong City
It was first built in the seventh year of Tianhui in the Northern Han Dynasty of the Five Dynasties, with the Hall of Ten Thousand Buddhas as the earliest. Although it has been rebuilt many times, it still maintains the style of the Five Dynasties. The temple is one of the three existing Five Dynasties buildings in Buddhist temples in my country, and the colored sculptures in it are the only Five Dynasties works preserved in temples and halls across the country.
Chongqing Temple·Changzi County, Changzhi City
It was first built in the ninth year of Dazhong Xiangfu in the Northern Song Dynasty. The temple is located in Ziyun Mountain. It is the most well-preserved early Song Dynasty building in the southeastern part of Shanxi. The Hall of Thousand Buddhas is the main hall in the temple. The three great masters and eighteen arhats in the Hall of Great Masters have a distinctive style and exquisite shape. They are known as the “crown of Chinese Song Dynasty sculptures” and are the only arhat statues with an exact date among the existing Song Dynasty arhats in China.
Guanyin Hall·Changzhi City
It was first built during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty. The existing buildings include the three-bay Tianwang Hall (hanging mountain style), the north and south side halls, the Guanyin Hall, the bell and drum tower, etc. The statues in the hall are exquisitely shaped. There are about 500 statues in existence, with colored sculptures and hanging sculptures alternating, and the three religions of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism are integrated.
Xiao Xitian·Xi County, Linfen City
Also known as Qianfo Temple, it is a Buddhist Zen temple during the Chongzhen period of the Ming Dynasty. It is divided into upper and lower courtyards. The upper courtyard is the essence of the whole temple. There are five interconnected Buddha niches arranged in front of the main hall. The magnificent “paradise” is hung on the walls between the beams. The well-preserved hanging sculptures and colored paintings have extremely high research value.
Fencheng Ancient Building Group·Xiangfen County, Linfen City
Originally Taiping County, it was the fief of Yuchi Gong in the early Tang Dynasty-Egongbao. The ancient Taiping County was moved here in the seventh year of the Zhenguan Period of the Tang Dynasty. After the construction of successive dynasties, a large number of ancient buildings were left in Fencheng, which is known as “one of the top ten ancient building complexes in Shanxi Province”.
Guangsheng Temple·Hongdong County, Linfen City
It was first built in the first year of Jianhe of Emperor Huan of the Eastern Han Dynasty. It was renamed Guangsheng Temple in the Tang Dynasty. The Feihong Tower, “Zhaocheng Golden Collection”, and the Yuan Dynasty murals in the Water God Temple in the temple are collectively known as the “Three Wonders of Guangsheng”. The Feihong Tower is one of the five Buddha relic towers and one of the four existing ancient towers in China. It is also the only glazed tower with craftsman inscriptions, the largest and most complete, discovered so far. In 2018, it was identified as the “world’s tallest colorful glazed tower”. The scene of Tang Monk sweeping the tower in “Sweeping the Tower to Argue the Strange Injustice” in CCTV’s 1986 version of “Journey to the West” was shot here.
Tiefu Temple·Jincheng Gaoping City
The existing 27 statues are arranged in the order of the twenty-four gods, with the four heavenly kings standing at the four corners. The core modeling method of “using iron as the skeleton and iron as the shape” is used. The colored sculptures of Tiefu Temple are bold in outline, exaggerated in body expressions, and rich in clothing folds, all showing a gorgeous effect. It is an example of the Buddhist colored sculpture art in the Ming Dynasty in the region.
Yuhuang Temple·Jincheng Zezhou County
The Jade Emperor Temple has more than 300 statues from the Song, Yuan and Ming dynasties. It is famous for the colored clay sculptures of the 28 constellations in the Yuan Dynasty. It is the work of the great sculptor Liu Luan in the Yuan Dynasty and is a valuable heritage for studying the history of Taoism and sculpture art.
Xixi Erxian Temple·Jincheng Lingchuan County
Founded during the Qianyuan period of the Tang Dynasty, it worships the gods unique to the Shangdang area. “Erxian” refers to the sisters “Zhenze Erxian” who became immortals because of filial piety. The belief in Erxian originated in the late Tang Dynasty. The representative Jin Dynasty architectural remains in the temple are the East and West Dressing Buildings, the rear hall, 29 inscriptions from past dynasties, and numerous wood carvings, stone carvings, colored glaze, colored paintings, murals and other affiliated cultural relics.
Qinglian Temple·Zezhou County, Jincheng City
One of the earliest temples of Maitreya Pure Land Sect in my country, it is famous in China for “Wen Qinglian, Wu Shaolin”. Because Sakyamuni in the temple sits on a lotus seat, it is named Qinglian Temple, which is divided into upper and lower courtyards. The lower courtyard of Qinglian Temple is the ancient Qinglian Temple, which is the old site of the temple built in the Tang Dynasty. Among them, the 6 Tang Dynasty colored sculptures in Maitreya Hall are the only ones in China. There are Wei steles, Tang sculptures, Song structures, Ming and Qing murals, poems and other cultural relics in the temple.
Fusheng Temple·Xinxiang County, Yuncheng City
Founded in the Zhenguan period of the Tang Dynasty, the Mituo Hall and the secret caves in the lower part of the Sutra Pavilion are relics of the Yuan Dynasty. There are Yuan Dynasty colored sculptures in the Amitabha Hall. The main building has a single-eaved hip roof style, surrounded by arched doorways, wooden archways, east and west wing rooms and other buildings, forming a small courtyard with a patio.
Guajue Tower·Yongji City, Yuncheng City
The ancient name is Guanque Tower, named after the storks and magpies that sometimes perch on it. It is known as one of the four famous towers in China. The high-platform cross-hip roof pavilion has a total height of 73.9 meters and is the tallest of the four famous towers.
Yongle Palace·Ruicheng County, Yuncheng City
Built in the Yuan Dynasty, it is a Taoist temple dedicated to Lü Dongbin. It absorbed the “construction method” of the Song Dynasty and the “column reduction method” of the Liao and Jin Dynasties, forming its own unique style. Famous for its murals, the Sanqing Hall is the main hall of the Yongle Palace. The mural “Chaoyuantu” in the hall is a large-scale ceremonial worship lineup. A total of 286 gods are painted, which is a rare masterpiece in the history of world painting.
Guangrenwang Temple·Ruicheng County, Yuncheng City
In the ruins of the ancient Weicheng, 2km away from Yongle Palace, it is named after the water god “Guangrenwang” enshrined. Because there was a five-dragon spring in front of the temple, it is also called “Five-dragon Temple”. It is one of the four existing wooden structures of the Tang Dynasty in my country (Nanchan Temple, East Hall of Foguang Temple, Tiantai Temple, Guangrenwang Temple). It is the earliest relic of the worship of the Dragon King in the early Tang Dynasty and the earliest building for worshiping the Dragon King in the existing Taoist temples.
Guandi Temple·Jiezhou Town, Yuncheng City
Built in the Sui Dynasty, it is the earliest, largest, highest and most complete Guandi Temple known to have been built. It is divided into the main temple and the Jieyi Garden. There are many cultural relics in the temple, such as the “Qi Su Chunqiu” archway, the iron lion cast in the Ming Dynasty, the statue of the keeper Hu, wood carvings, ancient buildings, and ancient trees and famous trees.
Qiufeng Tower & Feiyun Tower·Wanrong County, Yuncheng City
Qiufeng Tower is located in Houtu Temple. It is named after the stele of “Autumn Wind Ode” of Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty hidden on the top of the building. The building is 32.6 meters high and has three floors. The building has a moderate proportion, simple brackets under the eaves, and exquisite and simple structure.
Feiyun Tower is located in the Dongyue Temple Scenic Area. The building is a pure wooden structure, 23.19 meters high, with a square floor plan, three open and five hidden floors, a cross-shaped hip roof, and dense brackets. It is a treasure among Chinese ancient buildings.
So, if you’re eager to embark on a virtual journey through the ancient architectural wonders of Shanxi, “Black Myth: Wukong” promises an unforgettable experience that seamlessly blends history, culture, and gaming innovation.