Taiyuan | A Summer Resort in Central China Hides a Magnificent Royal Garden

| A Summer Resort in Central China Hides a Magnificent Royal Garden. Among the scenic spots of the Three Jin regions, Jinyang is the most notable, and the beauty of Jinyang is all in Jinci. Jinci, located in Jinci Town, Jinyuan District, Taiyuan City, Shanxi Province, was originally named Jinyang Temple. It was built to commemorate Shuyu, the son of King Wu of the Western Zhou Dynasty, and is the earliest existing royal garden in China. It has been visited by numerous famous people throughout history, who have written poems and essays in praise of it. The temple contains dozens of ancient buildings with traditional Chinese cultural characteristics. Among them, the Nanlao Spring, the Maid Statue, and the Holy Mother Statue are known as the "Three Wonders of Jinci." In March 1961, Jinci was announced by the State Council as one of the first batch of national key cultural relics protection units, and in 2011, it was announced as one of the first batch of national AAAA-level tourist attractions. The Holy Mother Hall in Jinci houses 43 painted clay sculptures. Except for two small statues inside the niche that were added later, the rest are original Song Dynasty sculptures. The maid statues are vividly shaped and naturally posed, with every frown and smile, every gesture and movement, sparking endless imagination. In 1954, sculptor Liu Kaiqu praised this group of maid statues as "one of the greatest sculptures in the history of ancient and modern times, both at home and abroad" after visiting Jinci. In front of the Shuimu Building, there is an octagonal pavilion with a pointed top, two zhangs high, protecting the spring water below. Named after the spring, it is called the Nanlao Spring Pavilion. The Nanlao Spring gushes day and night, never ceasing, as if it is a heavenly gift of an endless, inexhaustible flow, symbolizing eternal youth and immortality. Therefore, the ancient ancestors named the spring Nanlao Spring, inspired by the beautiful phrase "eternal youth" from the Book of Songs*Lu Song, implying that the spring water will remain youthful forever, never aging. Strolling through Jinci in midsummer, seeing the towering ancient trees and appreciating the ancient buildings, it feels like traveling back in time. The golden afterglow of the sunset evokes a sense of the changing times, yet the treasures of Chinese civilization are well preserved here, which is truly fortunate!