Happiness and Longevity Temple

Located on the bank of the East Liao River, at the southern foot of Longshou Mountain in Liaoyuan, the Happiness and Longevity Temple is a well-known Taoist temple in northeast China, first built in 1897, the 23rd year of Emperor Guangxu’s rule in the Qing Dynasty. [Photo by Song Guicai/provided to China.org.cn]

Located on the bank of the East Liao River, at the southern foot of Longshou Mountain in Liaoyuan, the Happiness and Longevity Temple is a well-known Taoist temple in northeast China, first built in 1897, the 23rd year of Emperor Guangxu’s rule in the Qing Dynasty.

Kuixing Tower is the main building of the temple. The bronze and gilded statues of all the celestial beings in it are the highest and largest of their kind in the world. The Taoist Building of the tower, consisting of five stories of spacious halls, is as high as the mountain top, the largest of all tower buildings in the world. The tower adopts the architectural style of ancient towers in the Liao Dynasty, and features Ming Dynasty’s decoration, Qing’s tangent circle pattern and famous Chinese paintings and calligraphy works. Kuixing Tower has 9 stories with a total height of 69 meters. The tower foundation, decorated with brick reliefs, is 24 meters in diameter and surrounded by white marble balustrades. The columns are of the vermilion color. The whole building is splendid, magnificent and quaint in perfect harmony with the mountains, rivers and urban buildings of Liaoyuan.