Main hall
Song-era timber.
Siyuwj — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Zhangzhugang — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Zhangzhugang — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Siyuwj — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Zhangzhugang — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Zhangzhugang — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Zhangzhugang — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Zhangzhugang — CC BY-SA 3.0
An old temple at the foot of Lingshan Hill, about 15 km north of Ningbo, first called Lingshan Temple and renamed Baoguo in 880 under the Tang. Its main hall dates from 1013, under the Northern Song, making it one of the oldest complete timber buildings surviving in China and the oldest south of the Yangtze. Listed in 1961 among China's first national protected monuments, it is now a museum of ancient Chinese architecture rather than an active temple, and visitors come to see how the hall was built: columns pieced together from several timbers, interlocking brackets beneath the roof and ornate domed ceilings inside, with courtyards climbing the hillside. Tickets cost CNY 20, open Tuesday to Sunday from 8 am to 5 pm, and 8.30 am to 4.30 pm from December to March, closed on Mondays, per visitor guides.
Song-era timber.
Carved timber.
On the hillside.
Foot of Lingshan Hill, Jiangbei District, about 15 km north of Ningbo
Its main hall dates from 1013, one of the oldest complete timber buildings surviving in China; the temple is now a museum of ancient architecture, with tickets at CNY 20, per visitor guides.