Mansion Day, Temple Day: Two Days in Jincheng

Give Jincheng two days. Day one is Yangcheng on the four-site Huangcheng ticket: Chen Tingjing's fortress mansion, then Guoyu and Haihui. Day two is the city's museum-run temples: Yuhuang Temple's 28 Lunar Mansions and Qinglian Temple's Tang figures. Book the temples online before you arrive.

Before you go

Reserve Yuhuang and Qinglian through the Jincheng Museum's WeChat account (“晋城博物馆”) with your passport, and check its notices for one-off closures. Both are open daily, 9:00 to 17:00, with last entry at 16:00. Qinglian's upper temple has been closed for repairs since July 2026.

Stay in Jincheng city. It is the hub for the station, the buses and the taxis.

Day 1: Huangcheng Xiangfu, Guoyu and Haihui

Early bus or car from the city; about an hour from the East Coach Station. See getting around Jincheng.

Morning. Huangcheng Xiangfu: the refuge tower, cave galleries and formal halls before the midday shows.

Lunch in Guoyu.

Afternoon. Walk Guoyu Ancient Town, climb the Yulou if it is open, then take the shuttle to Haihui's twin pagodas if you have energy. Winter closing is 17:30.

Back to the city for dinner.

Day 2: Yuhuang and Qinglian

Morning. Taxi to Yuhuang Temple at 9:00 opening. Go straight to the rear court for the 28 Lunar Mansions, then circle the middle court. One and a half hours.

Late morning. Taxi about 17 km to Qinglian Temple. An hour in the lower temple and the hillside setting.

Afternoon. Train out from Jincheng East, toward Zhengzhou in under an hour or Taiyuan in about an hour and a half.

If you only have one day

Choose by interest. For architecture and social history, take Huangcheng and Guoyu. For sculpture, take Yuhuang and Qinglian; a half day covers both, so you could catch an afternoon train.

Where does Jincheng fit in a Shanxi trip?

It is the south-eastern corner of the province, on the high-speed line to Zhengzhou. Coming from the north, it follows Taiyuan or Pingyao. If you are travelling by road through southern Shanxi, Linfen is to the west, with Little Western Heaven in Xi county as another Black Myth sculpture site. Datong's three-day plan covers the far north.

What should you check?

Checked October 2026 (Asia/Shanghai). Each site's official account or notice wins over this plan. Ticket prices at Huangcheng drop for the low season from 1 November. Temple closures are announced at short notice.

Cover photo: 江上清风1961 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)