The Taoist Trinity Hall of Xuanmiao Temple is located on Guanqian Street, Suzhou City. It was listed as a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level by the State Council of China in 1982.
Xuanmiao Temple, called Zhenqing Taoist temple at the beginning, was built in the second year of Xianning Period during Western Jin Dynasty (276). From April to October of 1981, the Taoist Trinity and its gate were repaired. In the beginning of 1996, Taoist Trinity Hall was renovated again.
The Taoist Trinity Hall, as the main hall of Xuanmiao temple, was rebuilt by Zhao Bosu who was an official of the Southern Song Dynasty in the sixth year of Chunxi Period. This hall has a gable and hip roof with multiple eaves and caesious tiled roof-peak. The pedestal of the Taoist Trinity Hall is 49.6m wide, 16.3m deep and 0.7m high. In front of the pedestal, there is a balcony with a width of 27.2m and a depth of 16.3m, while in the center, an Iron Ding(Chinese tripod-like ritual article) is standing there. In the front and on the both sides of the pedestal, there are steps with bluestones around. Three rooms are in the south. Stone railings link with the balcony and there are extremely exquisite Chinese carvings on them, including characters, beasts, marine animals, landscape, clouds, trees and pavilions. These carvings are unsophisticated and vivid. They should be the works before Song Dynasty.
The Taoist Trinity Hall of Xuanmiao Temple is the biggest wooden building of Yangtze River. It is not only the representative work of the official architectures in the Song Dynasty, but also the embodiment of local architecture. What’s more, it is a very important example for people to study the differences between the buildings of the Southern and Northern China during the Song Dynasty. The design of the six-layer dougong (Chinese bracket set) is the unique and precious one in China, which has been known as a classic in the history of architecture.
