Golden Temple

The Golden Temple is located on top of Mingfeng (Singing Phoenix) Hill is the home of the Taoist Taihe Palace (Hall of Supreme Harmony), which is the largest copper temple in China.

The Golden Temple exist now is built by the governor of Yunnan Province. This temple was undisturbed for almost two hundred years until the Muslim rebellion of 1857, during which the Golden Temple suffered some damages. Emperor Guangxu ordered its complete repair and in 1890, using 250 tons (246 gross ton) of solid bronze, the entire temple was again rebuilt. Except for the staircases and balustrades, which are made of marble, the walls, columns, rafters, roof tiles, altars, Buddha statues, wall decorations and the banner near the gate tower are all made of copper. The burnished copper gleamed like gold and that is why people named it the Golden Temple. Since its last renovation, this beloved copper temple on the top of Mingfeng Hill has been well cared and has become the most famous Taoist shrine in Yunnan Province.

The Golden Temple is only 11 kilometers (7 miles) from Kunming and is easily accessible by public transportations.