China Guide
Jiangsu and Zhejiang
Xuanmiao Guan
Opening time: Daily 7.30am–4.30pm
Price: ¥10
Address: Just north of Guanqian Jie
Xuanmiao Guan (Taoist Temple of Mystery) was founded originally during the Jin dynasty in the third century AD, but has been destroyed, rebuilt, burnt down and put back together many times during its history. For centuries it was the scene of a great bazaar where travelling showmen, acrobats and actors entertained the crowds. Nowadays the complex, still an attractive, lively place, basically consists of a vast entrance court full of resting locals with, at its far end, a hall of Taoist deities and symbols; it's all encircled by a newly constructed park.