Jinci Temple Hall of Holy Mother

Jinci Temple (晋祠) is 25km southwest of Taiyuan city center. Fly into Taiyuan Wusu Airport (TYN, 15km southeast of city). From Taiyuan: Bus 308 from Taiyuan Railway Station to Jinci Gongyuan (晋祠公园) -- 60 min, 2 CNY, departs every 15 min. Bus 804 from Taiyuan South Railway Station (太原南站) -- also 60 min, 2 CNY. Taxi from Taiyuan city center: 40 min (60-80 CNY). From Taiyuan South HSR Station: 35 min by taxi (50 CNY). The temple complex is easy to find -- the main gate faces the main road and the park entrance is large and well-marked. Free electric carts shuttle visitors from the outer park gate to the temple entrance (500m).

Stay in Taiyuan city. Pullman Taiyuan (500 CNY/night, near Wuyi Square and Liuxiang shopping street, best upscale); Taiyuan Wanda Realm (400 CNY/night, connected to a large shopping mall with restaurants); Jinjiang Inn Taiyuan Fu Xi Jie (150 CNY/night, clean budget chain, 10 min walk to Food Street). The temple area has no hotels -- it is a suburban park setting. Plan a morning departure (8am) from your Taiyuan hotel, visit the temple (2-3 hours), return to Taiyuan for lunch. If you are visiting Foguang and Nanchan temples (the remote Tang sites), use Taiyuan as your base for 2-3 days.

Taiyuan is the noodle capital of Shanxi. Must-try: dao xiao mian (刀削面, knife-shaved noodles -- the cook holds a block of dough and shaves noodles directly into boiling water with a curved blade, 15-20 CNY at any noodle shop); guo you rou (过油肉, oil-braised sliced pork with black wood ear mushrooms, the classic Shanxi restaurant dish, 35-50 CNY); yang za ge (羊杂割, lamb offal soup with vermicelli noodles, a Taiyuan breakfast staple, 15-20 CNY at morning street stalls); lao chen cu (老陈醋, aged Shanxi vinegar -- visit the Donghu Vinegar Culture Museum 东湖醋园 near the railway station, free, fascinating tour of 600-year-old vinegar vats, 20 min). Taiyuan Mianshi Guan (太原面食馆) on Jiefang Road -- order the noodle tasting platter (面食套餐) with 8-10 different noodle types, 60-80 CNY/person. Food Street (食品街 Shipin Jie) near Liuxiang has 50+ restaurants and food stalls.

Spring (April-May): 12-25C, peach and plum blossoms in the temple gardens -- this is the most beautiful season, especially late April when the Nanlao Spring-fed ponds reflect pink blossoms. Autumn (September-October): 10-22C, ancient cypress trees contrast with autumn foliage. Summer (June-August): 25-35C, but the temple complex is shaded by 1,000+ year old cypress trees (some planted in the Zhou Dynasty, now 3,000+ years old and still alive) -- surprisingly cool. Winter: -5 to 5C, the temple with snow is serene but cold. Hours: 8am-5:30pm (summer), 8:30am-5pm (winter). Admission: 80 CNY (peak season), 60 CNY (off-peak). Go early (8-9am) to experience the temple before tour groups arrive from Taiyuan.

The Hall of the Holy Mother (Shengmudian, 圣母殿) is the jewel -- built 1032, it is the earliest surviving major Song dynasty timber hall. The eight carved wooden dragons wrapping around the front columns are UNIQUE in surviving Chinese architecture -- no other building from any period has this feature. They are not separate pieces but carved into the columns themselves. Also: the Nanlao Spring (难老泉), one of China's most celebrated springs, feeds a series of pools through the temple complex; the Zhou Dynasty Cypress (周柏, 3,000+ years old, leaning at 45 degrees against a younger tree); the 40 life-size painted clay statues of palace ladies inside the Hall of Holy Mother (Song dynasty originals). The temple complex has many Ming-Qing additions -- focus your time on the Song core (Hall of Holy Mother, Flying Bridge, and Offerings Hall). Combine with: Shanxi Museum (山西博物院) in Taiyuan (free, 2 hours, excellent Neolithic-to-Tang exhibits that provide context for Jinci), and if time: Shuangta Temple (双塔寺, Twin Pagodas, Ming dynasty, 30 CNY, in southeastern Taiyuan).