Although the exact construction year of the
Wanrong Dongyue Temple is unknown, it has existed since the Tang Dynasty
(618-907) and underwent large-scale renovations between 1291 and 1297.
Sitting in the north and facing south, the
current temple's main constructions include the Feiyun Building, front gate, the
Xian Hall, the Xiang Pavilion, the Dongyue God Hall and the Yama Raja Hall. Most
of these constructions were built during the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) and
rebuilt in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), except the Feiyun Building, which was
rebuilt in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).
Square in shape, the three-storied Feiyun
Building is 40 meters high and has a cross-shaped gable and hip roof supported
by four columns stretching from bottom to top. The second and third floors both
have a balustrade, and a side room was built on each of the four sides making
the temple cross-shaped. The eaves on each floor are raised up containing 307
overlapping bracket sets beneath. Various kinds of wind-bells are suspended on
the eaves. A set of wooden steps leads to the top of the temple where the county
can be seen in full view. Feiyun Building is important to Chinese wooden
architecture for its complicated and exquisite structure, as well as its tall
and elegant artistic design.
The front gate is seven bays wide and six
rafters deep. It has a gable and hip roof with single-layered eaves. Built on a
simple girder with evenly distributed bracket sets, the gate has the typical
architectural style of the Yuan period (1271-1368). Xian Hall is seven bays wide
and six rafters deep, with a flushed gable roof. Xiang Pavilion is square-shaped
and has a cross-shaped gable and hip roof decorated with glazed beasts on its
ridges. The pavilion's balustrade contains carvings of floating clouds and
snaking dragons made in the Zhengde reign of the Ming Dynasty. The width and
depth of Dongyue God Hall is five bays and it is square in shape. Most of the
hall's girder structures were built using round columns. Glazed beasts sitting
on the hall's ridge are relics of the Qing
period.