Fuxi Temple (Tianshui)

Ming Temple To Fuxi, The Mythical Founder Of Chinese Civilisation · Tianshui, Gansu

The principal temple in China to Fuxi, the mythical first of the Three Sovereigns, who in legend invented the trigrams, taught people to fish with nets and instituted marriage - and who is said to have been born at Tianshui, which calls itself his hometown. The temple was founded in the Ming dynasty in 1483 and rebuilt several times, and its axis runs through a succession of gates and courtyards shaded by ancient cypresses, several of them planted at the founding and still alive. The main hall holds a Ming statue of Fuxi in leaves, holding the trigram diagram, and its coffered ceiling is painted with all sixty-four hexagrams of the Book of Changes, a rare survival. Sacrificial ceremonies to Fuxi have been performed here since the fifteenth century and were revived as a state-level rite; the spring and summer ceremonies draw large crowds and officials, and the temple is busiest then. Tianshui is also the base for the Maijishan grottoes, an hour away, and the city has become famous nationally for its spicy hot pot noodles.

Fuxi Temple, Fuxi Road, Qinzhou District, Tianshui, Tianshui, Gansu, China

Daily, roughly 8:00-18:00 in summer and to about 17:30 in winter, with holiday extensions (check); ticket price varies between sources.

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