Golden Temple

Visit Kunming’s Shining Religious Center

Golden Temple, also referred as Taihe Palace and Bronze Tile Temple, is perched on Mingfeng Hill (Singing Phoenix Hill) in the northeast of Kunming City. It has been a well-known Taoist temple in Yunnan since the Ming dynasty. Since the temple is made of bronze, which glitters like gold under the sun, it is named as “Golden Temple”. Golden Temple is one of the four largest bronze temples in China and it is among the best preserved and most important.

The temple was first built in 1602 during the Ming Dynasty, imitating the Taihe Palace on Wudang Mountain in Hubei Province. In 1637, the temple was moved to the top of Jizu Mountain in Binchuan County for political reasons. The Golden Temple situated on the Mingfeng Mountain was rebuilt by Wu Sangui, a governor during the Qing Dynasty.

The magnificent Golden Temple is just a part of Taihe Palace, a Taoist temple in China. The temple is 20 feet (6.7 meters) in height, 18.5 feet (6.2 meters) deep and 250 tons in weight. and it is the largest bronze structures in China. The beam, windows, curtains, Taoist statues, inscribed board and couplet inside the temple are all made of bronze. Inside the temple stands the statue of Zhenwu, a Taoist deity, which is exquisitely carved, magnificent and solemn in appearance. On each side of the statue of Zhenwu stands a soldier dressed in armor and weapon in hand, appearing bold, powerful and vigorous. There are also two swords preserved inside the temple. One is the 44 pound (20 kilogram) sword with the constellation of the Big Dipper engraved on it, and the other is the 26 pound (12 kilogram) broadsword with a wooden handle. Behind the temple grows a camellia and two crape myrtles planted during the Ming dynasty.