King Great Temple

Period: Qing Dynasty Address: No.9 Street, downtown Bo'ai County seat

The main hall of King Great Temple remains well preserved. It is three bays wide and three bays deep, complete with roof ridge ornaments. A dragon finial sits in the middle of the main ridge topped with a precious gourd, and animal figures line the sloping ridges. The building features a gable roof covered with grey cylindrical tiles.

Bracket sets are evenly arranged under the eaves. There are ten bracket assemblies on the front eaves, each with two tiers, and the bracket arms terminate in grasshopper-head mouldings. A continuous horizontal beam runs across the front. The wooden columns incline inward and stand on drum-shaped stone bases. The eaves extend one metre outward. The wind shields and fish-shaped pendants on the gable walls are intact, and the lattice doors and windows at the front remain complete.

The bracket sets on the rear eaves are single-tiered and evenly spaced. Four-rafter beams form the interior frame. Every tie beam is supported by carved floral brackets with exquisite craftsmanship, reflecting superb architectural techniques.

Two side chambers stand on the west side of the main hall in fairly good condition. Sixteen stone steles from the Ming and Qing dynasties are kept in the backyard: three erected during the Jiajing, Longqing and Chongqing reigns of the Ming Dynasty, and thirteen from the Qing Dynasty including the Kangxi and Qianlong reigns. The inscriptions record the construction of the temple, the renovation of the opera tower and the refurbishment of shrines. These stone tablets are protected within stele pavilions and stele walls.

On June 8, 2006, the People's Government of Henan Province designated the temple as one of the Fourth Batch of Provincial Key Cultural Relic Protection Units.