Golden Temple Kunming

Golden Temple is located on top of Mingfeng (Singing Phoenix) Hill, and is the home of the Taoist Taihe Palace (Hall of Supreme Harmony. It is also known as the Tongwa Temple (Bronze Tile Temple) and by its popular name, the Golden Temple.

The history of the Golden Temple starts during the Ming Dynasty and the reign of the Emperor Wanli in 1602. At that time the governor of Yunnan Province was a devout Taoist who built this temple to honor the Taoist hero-god Zishi.

As with most Taoist temples, you approach it by climbing up a mountainside on winding stone steps and pass through a series of "Heavenly Gates." The three Heavenly Gates of the Golden Temple are highly decorated with painted archivolts and carved beams and rafters.

Behind the Golden Temple, there is a three-story-high Bell Tower that was built in 1984 to house a large, 580-year-old copper bell, which is three point five meters high and weighs an incredible 14 tons.