Temple of Mystery

玄妙观 Xuán Miào Guān

A large Taoist hall perpetually obscured by a curtain of joss smoke of devotes eager to placate the gods inside. It has a large market area, many small shops with a range of goods aimed mainly at either devotees or tourists. The temple was established in the 3rd century and broadened to its present size in the Song Dynasty, where it became a popular spot for travelling magicians and acrobats. The erstwhile performers have given way to a multitude of stalls selling meretricious worldly goods on which you can easily make your money disappear. The main Sanxing Dian hall was rebuilt in 1811 to hold Song Dynasty deity statues, later destroyed by Red Guards they occupied the hall during the cultural revolution. The present sculptures are modern reproductions. Of greater antiquity is a stone impressed with the footprints of a Taoist god, found in the Ming dynasty. The stone is genuine, but the origins of the feet less certain.

• market

Address

east end of the pedestrian shopping area on Guanqian Jie

Hours

Closed · opens 7:30 am

Weekly hours

Mon	7:30 am–5 pm
Tue	7:30 am–5 pm
Wed	7:30 am–5 pm
Thu	7:30 am–5 pm
Fri	7:30 am–5 pm
Sat	7:30 am–5 pm
Sun	7:30 am–5 pm

Price

¥10

Website

szxmg.com (opens in a new tab)