Golden Temple
Located on Mingfeng Hill seven km northeast of Kunming, the Golden Temple is also known as Taihe Palace (Hall of Supreme Harmony) or Tongwa Temple (Bronze Tile Temple). First built in 1602 during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the present one was rebuilt by Wu Sangui in 1671 during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).
The whole building is cast with copper, with the doors and windows engraved with patterns of dragon, phoenix and beautiful brocade while eave tiles and drippings are decorated with cloud dragon pattern. The josses, plaques, girders, screens and decorations inside the palace are all cast with copper with a total weight of 200 tons. The waiting pavilions flanking the palace, masts and flags are all made of copper. It is a masterpiece of Chinese copper art.
