Shuangquan Temple

This temple, which sits at the foot of Mount Wutai, Shanxi province, 1,000 meters above sea level, was built in 1269, during the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) and is only 3 kilometers from the recently finished Xinzhou-Fuping Highway (Shanxi to Hebei province).

It is easier to reach that other temples on the mountain and, and after it was added to the World Cultural Heritage list, in 2009, it saw the number of tourists increase dramatically.

It has many halls and seven stone tablets from different dynasties, along with other relics. There are various tales about the temple that are popular among the locals and one of the stone tablet describes two sacred springs near the temple, hence the name Shuangquan ("Double springs"), and how, every time people prayed for rain to fall to end a drought, the rain would soon arrive.

Another tale from the Qing Dynasty (1636-1912) tells of how, in the fifth year of the Yongzheng emperor's reign, 1727, not a drop of rain fell for a whole year in Shanxi, and the governor, Cheng Yichong, heard that Longwang, the mythological God of Rain, would soon appear in the temple. So Cheng led all his councilors to the temple barefooted to pray for rain, and when they got home that night, there was a great rainfall that nourished the land. The next day, Cheng sent people to erect a stone tablet to express gratitude to the god. And, since that time the locals have honored the god at the temple.

A third tale concerns the temple Itself and tells of how, when it was being built, water for the work was a major problem because the people had to carry it by donkey from far away. But, as they were going down the mountain, a green snake stopped them half way and led them back to the construction site, and made two circles on the ground. And, suddenly it came to the Great Master, who asked the people to start dig on the spot, and clear water began spurting out. It is said that the kettles used in the temple do not have any deposit on their surface after two years' use, so that you can see how clear the water is in the temple!

The temple has been restored in recent years and is now seeing more tourists.

Edited by Roger Bradshaw