The Zhongyue Temple, listed by the State Council as a key national temple of Taoism, is located on Songshan Mountains in Dengfeng County, Henan Province. The temple is one of the oldest of its kind in China, originally built in the Qin Dynasty over 2,200 years ago, and moved to its present site in the Tang (618-907 AD).

 Although the nearby Buddhist Shaolin Monastery, with its kung fu and Chan (Zen) study, is better known and more visited, the Zhongyue Temple is arguably as good, a huge working temple that is full of interesting sights and some of the regions friendliest, blue robed monks, all of whom have hair notted into a round queue at the back.

It is the extant ancient Taoist architectural complex that is the most complete and has the largest scale. The main buildings include the Zhonghua Gate and the Tianzhong Pavilion, etc., spanning 6,500 meters from south to north. There are many precious cultural relics in the temple. Especially, its numerous inscriptions on tablets are now the important materials for calligraphic research. The principal building is the Main Hall, which displays very delicate craftsmanship and is the most grandiose building in the Zhongyue Temple.

 The most interesting sight here, however, are the four, 3.5-meter-high iron figures built in the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127 AD) and now situated in the eastern part of the Temple. These figures were built to guard the temple facing north, south, east and west, and are nowadays patted by children to gain strength, a local custom. Also of interest to Buddhist followers are the countless tomes of Taoist lexicons, steles and inscriptions that the temple houses. Most of the rear of the temple is dedicated to Taoist practice, from Qigong to incense burning, and it is here that many of the monks congregate.

The Zhongyue Temple is nicknamed the Little Palace. Zhongyue Temple was a place of sacrificial offering for all the emperors in different dynasties. It also was one of the places of origin for Taoism culture. Zhongyue Temple enjoyed the highest reputation in Tang Dynasty and Song Dynasty. Nowadays, Zhonyue Temple is a significant place for people to make a vow with its mysterious history.

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