Old Buildings of Fencheng

The Old Buildings of Fencheng (汾城古建筑群) is a group of over forty structures in Fencheng Town, Xiangfen County, Shanxi. They line a north–south axis and include the City God Temple, Confucian Temple, Drum Tower, County Government Hall, Guandi Temple, Sheji Temple, Hongji Bridge and a surviving stretch of city wall, built from the Jin dynasty to the late Qing.

Fencheng was the seat of Taiping County, and its buildings span the Jin to Qing periods. The Confucian Temple was first built in the Tang and rebuilt in 1340; the Guandi Temple dates to 1300 and the City God Temple to 1369, rebuilt in 1627. The surviving west city wall was built in 1631 and runs about 1,000 metres.

Fencheng was the seat of Taiping County, and its temples reflect the official cults of a county town: the City God Temple (first built 1369, rebuilt 1627) and the Sheji Temple (Ming Hongwu era) for local deities, plus the Confucian Temple with its Minglun Hall for education. The drum tower and pre-school brick pagoda mark the town's ceremonial and scholarly foci.

Navigate best by following the straight north-south axis where most major buildings are arranged. Expect to walk considerable distances as structures spread across the old town, and some pathways may be uneven or unpaved.

Hongji Bridge, first built in 1183 (23rd year of the Jin Dading era), is a single-arch stone bridge running east-west. During the Qianlong reign of the Qing dynasty its timber corridor columns were replaced with stone ones. It is the oldest dated structure in the Fencheng cluster.