China Guide
Sichuan and Chongqing
Qingyang Gong
Price: ¥5
Address: 2km west of Renmin Park (buses #19 & #35; tourist bus #901)
Qingyang Gong (Green Goat Temple) is dedicated to Taoism's mythical proponent, Laozi. The temple's unusual Bagua Pavilion is an eight-sided hall with supporting posts wreathed in golden dragons, which houses a statue of Laozi astride his buffalo. According to legend, Laozi lost interest in teaching and headed west into the sunset, first baffling posterity by saying that he could be found at the green goat market once his philosophy was understood – hence the temple's unusual name. The tale is again reflected at the main Three Purities Hall, built in 1669, where two bronze goats, overlooked by the looming bulks of the Three Purities themselves, have been worn smooth by the caresses of luck-seekers. The right-hand "goat" is weird, being the simultaneous incarnation of all twelve zodiacal animals. West of here is an excellent vegetarian restaurant, open at lunchtime, but for active entertainment head around the back of the next hall, where those after a blessing stumble with eyes shut and arms outstretched towards three large good-luck symbols painted on the bricks, hoping to make contact; onlookers laugh at their efforts before trying themselves.
East of Qingyang Gong, Qintai Lu is a broad street built in a Qing/Ming style to create a kitsch "Chinatown", full of expensive jewellery shops and restaurants. At the south end, the entrance to Baihuatan Park is marked by a wooden pagoda and an attractive covered bridge, which crosses over to a spread of ornamental trees shading a large waterside teahouse area – a very pleasant spot to settle into on a hot day.