Yán Temple

A recent makeover is responsible for the five-fold (!) admission increase. The tranquil and little-visited Yán Temple northeast of the Confucius Mansions opens to a large grassy courtyard with some vast stele pavilions sheltering dirty stelae and antediluvian bìxì. The main hall, Fùshèng Hall (复圣殿; Fùshèng Diàn), is 17.5m high, with a hip and gable roof, and a magnificent ceiling decorated with the motif of a dragon head. Outside the hall are four magnificently carved pillars with coiling dragon designs and a further set of 18 octagonal pillars engraved with gorgeous dragon and floral patterns. The architecture is strikingly similar to that of the Confucius Temple.