Yongle Palace

Yongle Palace in Ruicheng county, Yuncheng city, Shanxi province [Photo/VCG]

First built in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), Yongle Palace is a Taoist temple complex commemorating Lyu Dongbin, one of the eight Taoist immortals. It is the largest Taoist temple in China. It took 111 years to build the complex which comprises several buildings constructed along a line running from south to north.

Yongle Palace is renowned for its numerous Taoist murals remaining from the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) inside the three main halls. They are considered to be some of the finest artistic treasures in China.

Chaoyuantu, covering 403 square meters of the west wall of Sanqing Hall in Yongle Gong Temple, is one of these treasures. With 286 gods in the painting, the mural depicts a scene where the congregation meets Yuanshi Tianzun, which is a story of Taoist etiquette.

This important Taoist temple complex was not always located where it is now. It was moved brick by brick, painting by painting to Ruicheng county between 1959 and 1964 to allow for the construction of the Sanmenxia Dam on the Yellow River as construction put Yongle town, the previous location of the temple, under water. Fortunately, the murals for which the palace is best known were well preserved in the move.

Yongle Palace was listed as a national 4A tourist attraction in 2005. 

Address: east to Longquan village, Ruicheng county, Yuncheng city, Shanxi province 

Ticket booking: 0359—3011491