Yongle Palace
永乐宫
A Yuan-dynasty Taoist temple complex whose Yuan murals, including the 'Assembly of Immortals', are considered a pinnacle of ancient Chinese mural art.
Yongle Palace was originally located in Yongle Town, Ruicheng County. It is a Quanzhen Taoist temple built during the Yuan dynasty to commemorate Lü Dongbin. In the 1950s, the construction of the Sanmenxia Reservoir required the entire palace, along with its murals, to be relocated in one piece to the north of Ruicheng county seat, a remarkable feat in the history of cultural relic relocation in China. Along the central axis are the palace gate, Wuji Gate (Dragon and Tiger Hall), the Hall of the Three Pure Ones, the Hall of Pure Yang and the Hall of Chongyang, all Yuan-dynasty structures. The 'Assembly of Immortals' mural in the Hall of the Three Pure Ones depicts nearly 300 deities. Their robes and sashes flow with the elegant, wind-blown line style known as 'Wu ribbons in the wind', and the mural covers more than 400 square meters. The murals in the Hall of Pure Yang tell the life story of Lü Dongbin and can be viewed as a scroll of Yuan-dynasty social life. To protect the murals, flash photography is prohibited. It is advisable to hire a guide or to study the figures and their relationships beforehand. Admission is tens of yuan (confirm with the official source), and a visit takes about 2 hours. The palace is about 80 kilometers from Yuncheng city center. You can reach it by bus from Yuncheng North Station or by car, and the drive over the Zhongtiao Mountains offers beautiful scenery.
Opening hours
08:30–17:30
Nearby sights
- Guangren Wang Temple (Five Dragons Temple)
- Ruicheng City God Temple
- Dayudu Scenic Area
- Wulao Peak
- Shengtian Lake
- Xiezhou Guandi Temple
- Changping Guandi Family Temple
- Pujiu Temple