Tang Figures on a Mountainside: Is Qinglian Temple Worth It While the Upper Temple Is Shut?

Qinglian Temple (青莲寺), on a wooded slope 17 km south-east of Jincheng, keeps some of China's rare Tang painted clay figures and is one of the oldest Pure Land Buddhist temples. In 2026 the upper temple is closed for repairs. The lower temple is open by online booking, and is still worth the trip for sculpture lovers.

Why does Qinglian matter?

The temple was founded in the 550s by the monk Huiyuan under the Northern Qi, as Xiashi Temple, and was renamed Qinglian under the Tang. It grew into two separate complexes on the same hillside: the older lower temple and the upper temple above it. Together they keep Tang sculpture, Song buildings, steles and Ming and Qing murals. The heritage centre that runs it describes six Tang painted figures as unique in China, and they are the reason specialists come. Tang clay figures this complete are very rare anywhere.

The setting helps. The temple sits halfway up the hill above the Dan River, with old cypresses and ginkgos, and a view across to Jueshan. It is quiet and green, in contrast to the fortified mansions of Yangcheng.

What is open now?

From 1 July 2026, according to the heritage centre's notice, the upper temple is closed for repair work and the lower temple is open. After a brief closure in August, the lower temple reopened on 13 August 2026. No reopening date for the upper temple appears in the notices we found, so assume it is still closed and check before you go.

That matters because the upper temple holds most of the Song halls. With it shut, plan for an hour in the lower temple rather than a half day.

Is it still worth going?

If you are going to Yuhuang Temple anyway, yes: both are run by the same museum, booked the same way, and they make a coherent half day of Tang and Yuan figures. If your time in Jincheng is very short, put Yuhuang Temple first and keep Qinglian for when the upper temple reopens.

If you have seen the Yingxian Wooden Pagoda further north, Qinglian adds the sculpture side of that early history.

How do you get there?

It is about 17 km from the city, outside the reach of the one-yuan tourist lines we found, so take a taxi or ride-hailing car and agree on waiting time. Combine it with Yuhuang Temple on the same day. See getting around Jincheng.

Hours and booking — what should you check?

Checked October 2026 (Asia/Shanghai). The Jincheng Museum's official site (jcbwg.cn) and WeChat account “晋城博物馆” win over this page.

Hours. Open daily, 9:00–17:00, with ticket checks stopping at 16:00.

Booking. Online reservation through the “晋城博物馆” WeChat account; bring your passport. We did not find a ticket price on the official pages, so confirm when booking.

Closures. Watch the notices page. The temple has had several temporary closures in 2026 (January, May and August) besides the upper-temple works.

Phone. 0356-3959730.

Cover photo: Windmemories / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)