Tiantai Temple

CHINA, Shanxi, Changzhi

Built in 907 during the Tang dynasty, it is one of the few temples that follow the teachings of the Tiantai school in northern China. It was listed as a National Cultural Heritage Site in 1988.
The temple grounds cover 970 sq m, while the buildings cover 90 sq m. Only the main hall and a stone stele are extant. The main hall is one of the four rare surviving buildings with a timber structure from the Tang dynasty (618–907). Built upon a 1 m high stone base, which is 7.2 m wide and 7.1 m deep. It has a single-eave hip-and-gable roof covered with cylindrical clay tiles and featuring glazed roof decorations in the shape of mythical creatures. The slope of the roof is gentle but it turns up markedly at the corners. The eaves are supported by round wooden columns. Architraves are clearly visible but there is no upper architrave. The eaves are supported by bracket sets. Inside the hall the roof framework is open, displaying the tie beams, and there is no decoration, giving it a feeling of bare simplicity.