Golden Palace

Consisting of the Golden Palace, Sanfeng Hall, Laojun Hall, the Golden Palace Exhibition Garden, the Golden Palace Museum, the Bell Tower and Flowers Area, the entire scenic area is highlighted by and named after the Golden Palace.
The Golden Palace, also locally called “Copper-Tiled Temple”, is in fact made from bronze. When first cast, it’s said to be shining like gold in the sun thus the name. The Golden Palace was originally built in the 30th year (1602) of Wanli Reign of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). It was sponsored by Mr. Chen Yongbin (1550-1617), who was then the provincial governor of Yunnan, and was modeled after the “golden palace” in Tianzhu Peak of Wudang Mountain in Hubei Province. The Golden Palace functions as the shrine for Zhenwu God (the Governor of North Dipper in Daoism). Encompassed by rampart with grandiose palace gate and gate tower, the Golden Palace complex is vividly referred to as “Taihe Palace” (Tai He Gong). In the 10th year (1637)　of Chongzhen Reign of the Ming Dynasty, the Golden Palace was unfortunately dismantled and shifted to Jizu Mountain in Binchuan County of Dali Prefecture. The extant Golden Palace was recast by Pingxi King-Mr. Wu Sangui (1612-1678) in the 10th year (1671) of Kangxi Reign of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).
Measuring 7.8 meters both long and wide and 6.7 meters high, the whole structure comprises beams, widows, doors, roof, table, incense-burner, curtain, plaques and couplets etc all of which are made from bronze. The Golden Palace of Kunming tops others of its kind in China for its total weight of over 250 tons. In 1982, it was listed as one of the “key cultural relics under state protection”.