Ancient architecture lovers' Wutai trip

Zhang Wenzhong in his forties has been to Shanxi's Mount Wutai over 100 times as a tour guide.

However, he traveled to Mount Wutai as an ordinary tourist this May, when he was a member of a group touring ancient architecture.

Ancient architecture lovers visit Foguang Temple in Wutai county, Shanxi province on May 1, a raining day. [Photo by Fan Minda/Xinhua]

Tang Dahua is one of the group's organizers, and has visited over 700 ancient buildings in Shanxi. He is mostly known for appealing to the public to preserve ancient buildings.

The Wutai tour has attracted more than 60 tourists from across the county, all interested in ancient architecture.

This tour, from May 1 to 3, focused on the wooden structures and painted sculptures from the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907), including Nanchan Temple and Foguang Temple. Nanchan Temple is China's most ancient Tang Dynasty wooden structure, while Foguang Temple is the largest one.

Ancient architectures lovers visit Foguang Temple in Wutai county, Shanxi province on May 1. [Photo by Fan Minda/Xinhua]

"I work in modern architecture, but I love ancient buildings," said one member. He has been studying Shanxi's ancient architecture and joined the group without hesitation.

Zhang is a doctoral student majoring in civil engineering. He is enthusiastic about ancient structures. Though already read about these old buildings, he was astounded on the Wutai trip.

Shanxi's long history has endowed the province with many antique buildings and is now hailed as a "treasury of wooden architecture".

A lecture on ancient architecture was held in one of the temples on Mount Wutai. "I learned a lot about ancient architectures and traditional culture," commented a member.

Ancient architecture lovers admire the Nanchan Temple in Wutai county, Shanxi province on May 1.[Photo by Fan Minda/Xinhua

Some parents brought their children to this Wutai tour. A mother surnamed Zhao is came from Shanghai, a metropolis full of tall buildings. She said her son has never seen any buildings older than 1,000 years before, and added that she believes traditional culture is an indispensible part for a Chinese child's education.

Yang is a high school student in the tourist group. "I gained a lot from this trip, and was charmed by the open, confident and elegant culture embodied in Tang architecture. I love traditional Chinese culture, and ancient architecture is a symbol of it," Yang said.

Tang said the activity aims to "bring Shanxi's ancient architecture to life" and let more people experience them in person. He hoped it would arouse more attention to ancient architecture's preservation, he said.