Guangzhou >> Temple of Ancestors

Attraction Typ: Historic Site

Location: about 30 km from city

Recommend: 4 Star

Temple of Ancestors

The Temple of the Ancestors is famous for its long history and the first one of Foshan’s temples and its ancient refinement and beauty architectures.

The Temple of the Ancestors (Chinese: 祖庙; pinyin: Zǔmiào) was originally built in the Yuanfeng reign (1078-1085) of the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1279) which is a palace hall that integrates ancient clay sculpture, woodcarving, foundry and architectural arts into a whole. It is said that the temple was built to enshrine the North Xuantian God (the God of Water in Taoism) worshipped by Taoists and was called the North God Temple at that time. However, the original temple was burnt down at the end of the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), and was rebuilt in the fifth year (1372) of the Hongwu reign in the Ming Dynasty (1338-16440). The temple finally was renamed "the Foshan Ancestor Temple" due to its long history and the first one of Foshan's temples.

Located in the Zumiao Road of Foshan City, the temple of the Ancestors covers an area of about 3500 square kilometers and is composed of the buildings like Wanfu Platform, Lingyin Torii, Jinxiang Pond, Zhonggu Garret, Three Gates, Front Hall, Main Hall and Qingzhen Garret, etc in line with the central axial. The Wanfu Platform was decorated with gilded carvings and looks twinkling and beautiful.

All of its construction materials, or even decorations and furnishings were donated by various industries and mainly produced locally. Typically, Zumiao Temple reflected of the famous foundry and potting handicraft industry in Foshan history. In turn, the refinement and beauty of its architecture reflected of the prosperity of ancient Foshan. So the temple gains the reputation of "Oriental Art's Palace" by the foreign visitors.

In 1962, it was recognized as a key protection unit of historical and cultural relics of Guangdong Province and managed by Foshan Museum. Nowadays, when night falls, the temple is used to stage the traditional Canton opera, the favorite entertainments of the local people.