Things to do & places to visit in Jiexiu, Shanxi, China

Jiexiu city in Shanxi, China. Timezone: Asia/Shanghai, current date and time: Monday, April 29, 2024, 18:57.

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Top things to do (6)

• Historic Sites
• Mountains
• Architectural Buildings
• Points of Interest & Landmarks
• Caverns & Caves
• Religious Sites

Top places to visit

1. 5.0 Houtu Temple (1 review)
   - Easily one of the most underrated places of interest in Shanxi
   Monday: 8:30 AM - 6:00 PM Architectural Buildings • Religious Sites
   
   
   Not surprised to see that there's yet any reviews of this place--I was the only visitor there when I visited last month. Entrance is free, but you'd have to sign in at the gate. I entered the temple about 12pm, and the last visitor before me signed in at 10:30. But this temple is genuinely impressive, and being untouristed certainly helped. The scale of the temple easily trumps those in the inner cities of Taigu, Qixian and Pingyao. This is a Taoist temple dedicated to Houtu 后土, a deity of the land. Most of the buildings remaining today in the temple date back a few centuries, and unlike similar temples elsewhere in the country, it survived such things as the Cultural Revolution and other events of that time period quite completely. Most of the stone tablets erected in the Ming and Qing Dynasties survive (and not enclosed in glass boxes). The temple itself doesn't seem to have been restored too excessively. The main hall of the temple date back about a millennia (Song or Jin Dynasty, if I remembered correctly), and incredibly intricately decorated, and do pause a moment to admire the structure of its wooden roof, and the performance stage opposite the building. Some of the comparatively recent buildings surrounding them are all decorated to a similar level of intricacy. Jiexiu isn't much of a tourist city, but several of the counties it borders are. Thus, if you ever happen to travel between, say, Pingyao and Lingshi, I highly recommend a short stay at Jiexiu. This temple itself is well worth the detour, and while you're there, the Aoshen temple just a couple hundred meters to the east (not normally open to the public, though) is also very much worth seeing, that being the sole surviving Zoroastrian temple in China. See more..
   
2. 4.0 Mian Mountain (166 reviews)
   - Photogenic and really beautiful in parts, but really tacky in parts and an expensive day trip
   Monday: 8:00 AM - 7:00 PM Mountains
   
   
   November 2014, after a day in Ancient City Pingyao, instead of hiring a guide, and or taxi, we took a train early morning to Jiexiu. It took about half an hour, and saved a lot of money. We paid 50 RMB to the taxi to go to Mian Shan Scenic area. After procedures with tickets and hotel accomodations, in central tourist office, we were transfered into tourist bus, which run every half an hour. Magnificient fews around cannot be described into words, and put into photos and video. High altitude and clear air create feeling of Switzerland, high drop cliffs of Big Canyon in Nevada, and only Taoist Temples remind that you are in the East. Our family of four, with two kids, 7 and 10, consider trip to Mian Shan as a Highlight of all our trip to China. And ,when I asked everyone, which place in China you would like to visit again...Mian Shan was named the First! (Even we visited seven major places on our trip, like Beijing, Mutianyu Great Wall, Pingyao Ancient City, Jiexiu with Mian Shan, Xi'an, Qingdao, Lao Shan, Shanghai, and town on water Zhujiajiao) Views are outstanding in Mian Shan, and if we go next time, we spend at least three-four days there, just hiking and wondering. Rooms in Yunfeng Hotel are very comfortable, restaurant prices are reasonable, and food is excellent. You can view some of my photos on panoramio... http://www.panoramio.com/user/2191248 See more..
   
3. 4.0 Zhangbi Ancient Castle (49 reviews)
   - Built 1300 years ago..... Quite a site.... The tunnels
   Monday: 8:00 AM - 7:00 PM Historic Sites
   
   
   This ancient castle was just fascinating. My wife and I were guided through the tunnels by our guide from Pingyao. We learned a lot about life in a Castle 1300 years ago. This was a military compound when first built and then became a place for local folk. There were 10000 meters of tunnels built under the castle. Now 1500 meters are open to the public. The tunnels have wells for water, storage for food, weapons, etc. See more..
   
4. Jincheng Huiluan Temple (0 review)
   Monday: 8:00 AM - 7:00 PM Historic Sites • Religious Sites
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5. Dongyue Temple of Jiexiu (0 review)
   Monday: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM Architectural Buildings • Religious Sites
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6. Hongshanyuan Spring (0 review)
   Monday: 8:00 AM - 7:00 PM Points of Interest & Landmarks
   
   
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7. Taiheyan Decorated Archway (0 review)
   Monday: 8:30 AM - 7:30 PM Points of Interest & Landmarks • Architectural Buildings
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8. Aoshen Building (0 review)
   Monday: 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM Points of Interest & Landmarks • Architectural Buildings
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9. Kehan King Temple (0 review)
   Architectural Buildings • Religious Sites
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10. HongShan Cave Site (0 review)
    Caverns & Caves
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