Prime Minister Chen’s Castle
Huangcheng Xiangfu: 皇城相府
What to see and do around Jincheng晋城 Shanxi Province Part One
Prime Minister Chen’s Castle: Huangcheng Xiangfu: 皇城相府 is one of the best preserved in all of China. It’s almost an entire city within the castle’s walls.
The southern Shanxi city of Jincheng 晋城 will never win any prizes for beauty or charm. It’s a typical medium sized Chinese City, dominated by the ubiquitous white tiled buildings, interspersed with an occasional glitzy glass tower. The only attraction in town is a recently built temple complex with a Ming Dynasty pagoda.
So why go there? Well, if you like unspoilt Chinese towns where time seems to have stood still, incredible vernacular architecture, walled castles and ancient pagodas, then Jincheng is the perfect base from which to explore them. Jincheng also has a fantastic Huoguo restaurant, a decent hotel and friendly cab drivers.
We spent two nights in Jincheng; it was enough to see what we had planned to visit. However, there are a lot more sights to visit than appear in any guidebook.
We visited four places:
Prime Minister Chen’s Castle: Huangcheng Xiangfu: 皇城相府
Guoyu Village: Guoyu Gucheng: 郭峪古城
The Haihui Temple and Pagoda complex: Haihui Si: 海会寺
Xiangfu Castle: Xiangyu Gubao 湘峪古保
Part One
Prime Minister Chen’s Castle: Huangcheng Xiangfu: 皇城相府
Ask anybody if they have ever heard of Prime Minister Chen’s Castle and you’ll probably get a shrug of the shoulders and a look of ‘what are you on about?’ However, in China, this is a so-called five star tourist attraction, receiving thousands of visitors everyday day and with a hefty entry ticket of 120 yuan. It is also an amazing example of ancient Chinese fortress architecture and is absolutely stunning. If you plan your visit well, it is easy to avoid the crowds and have the place to yourself for an hour or so.
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