Foshan Ancestral Temple 佛山祖庙

Situated in Foshan city about 28 kilometers south of Guanzhou, the Ancestral Temple, first built in the period 1078 to 1085, is one of the famous ancient buildings in Guandong Province with a history of more than 900 years. Originally it was called the Ancestor’s Hall, for worshipping the ancestors by workers of the smelting trade. The original temple was ruined towards the end of the Yuan Dynasty and was rebuilt according to the original grandeur at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty and was rebuilt according to the original grandeur at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty. Because the Ming emperor Zhu Yuanzhang then worshipped Emperor Zhenwu, an imaginative God of Taoism, the temple was converted into a Taoist temple. Since 1949, it has been converted into Foshan Municipal Museum and listed as one of the main cultural relics under the preservation by the provincial government. The temple has developed to its present scale through more than 20 times of renovations and expansions in the Ming and Qing dynasties. Encompassing over 3,000 square meters, it comprises five parts: the rear hall, the main hall, the front hall, the Jinxiang (splendid fragrance) Pond and the opera stage. The entire structure is characteristic of being compact and simple yet imposing in its outlook. Not a single nail was used in the entire construction. The upper part of the temple is completely supported by the interlocking bracelets, in the shape of dove-tail, swallow-tail and the like, the construction being the unique architectural style typical in ancient China. All the bracelets are made of ferrous mesua, a hard-quality wood native to Guangdong Province and are characterized by being ventilating, moisture-proof and capable of bearing heavy loads. Therefore, they have lasted for hundreds of years and still remain intact. The temple is roofed with the famous Shiwan coloured tiles, thus looking all the more magnificent and splendid. In fact, the whole temple is decorated with various kinds of sculptures such as pottery figurines, wood-carvings, brick-carvings, stone-carvings, lime-sculptures and iron and bronze casting. Altogether in the temple there are over 2,000 figurines of defferent shapes, depicting the tales and legends popular among the people. On the ridge of the main hall roof alone, 152 pottery figurines with various facial expressions are mounted. In addition a huge iron tripod, a large bronze tripod and a 2,500-kilogram bronze statue of the North God are seen in the main hall. The 400-year-old opera stage in the southern part of the temple is said to be the oldest of its kind now in existence in the province. Construction and artistic decorations of the temple fully reflect the industriousness and ingenuity of the labouring people in ancient China as well as the time-honoured culture and history of China.

Since 1949, on the basis of preserving the old structures, in the temple, a garden with pavilions, terraces, and verandas has been built and many trees planted in and around the temple, thus making it more like a park for both domestic and overseas tourists to spend their leisure hours.

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