The third of Mount Tianshan: The Qianlong Temple in Dongdi Ancient village
In the end of the streets of Qitai County are the vast snowy peaks of Tianshan mountain
The Temple of Guan Yu in Dongdi of Qitai is nestled and surrounded by the elms
The ancient elms and showy flowers in front of the temple hall of the Temple of Guan Yu in Dongdi
The temple hall of the Temple of Guan Yu in Dongdi
The old man of Lv Zhendong, the keeper of the Temple of Guan Yu in Dongdi was introducing us the precious frescoes in the temple hall
Photographer --Zhu Zhengming was giving the World Duke Guan icon and Guan Gong Thang-Ka to Mr. Lv Zhendong
The front gate of the Temple of Guan Yu in Dongdi
The richly ornamented theater building of the Temple of Guan Yu in Dongdi
The flowers were blooming in the Temple of Guan Yu in Dongdi
The temple hall of Temple of Guan Yu in Lihuajian, Qitai County
The temple hall of Temple of Guan Yu in Lihuajian, Qitai County
Starting from Barkol, then arrived in Qitai County by driving 300 kilometers westbound along the Tianshan mountains.
In the Qing dynasty, the temples of Guan Yu were throughout everywhere of Xinjiang, such as in the prefecture and castle, villages and towns, hinterland and garrison camps. Because suffering from battles and “cultural revolution” in 1960s-1970s, mostly temples of Guan Yu have disappeared, The Temple of Guan Yu in Dongdi Ancient village of Qitai County, also known as Qianlong temple, is one of well-preserved temples of Guan Yu in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region .
The temple is located in the east and 20 kilometers far from Qitai County, it is the ancient camel Road to Mongolia, 16 villages of Dongdi Township, so it is called the Dongdi Temple. The elder of Mr. Lv Zhenguo, keeper of temple introduced me that these building groups were under construction started in the Fifty-fourth year of Qianlong Emperor in the Qing Dynasty ( year of 1789), and completed in the fifty-seventh year of Qianlong Emperor in the Qing Dynasty (year of 1792), the total completion of the temple of Guan Yu, Goddess Temple, Town’s god Temple, these three temples were facing south with coherent layout, the main building was the temple of Guan Yu. The saint temple, theatrical building and other ancillary buildings were the continued constructions in Jiaqing and daoguang emperors in the Qing Dynasty. In the fourth year of Tongzhi Emperor, Town’s god Temple and Goddess Temple were burned in battles, with the exception of the temple of Guan Yu was retained. In the eighteenth year of Guangxu Emperor ( year of 1892), the local people re-built the temple by donation and restored its previous heroic looks.
Mr Lv told us, these temples were classified as the cultural relics historic protected sites in Xinjiang Autonomous Region, they were under the jurisdiction by the Bureau of Cultural Relics of Autonomous Region. In recent years, the government invested and rebuilt the front gate, the Bell and Drum Tower, theatrical stage, covering an area of over 14,000 square meters, of which the temple of Guan Yu covers an area of over 800 square meters.