The Green Ram Temple – Qing Yang Gong
Qing Yang Gong is located in Chengdu City, SiChuan Province, on West Section 2 of the First Ring Road along the Jinjiang River. According to legend, Qing Yang Gong is the birthplace of the founder of Taoism, Lao Tsu, and is where he made the first sermon on Taoism.
Small amount of money can gain you entrance to the Palace of the Green Lamb, a Taoist temple, to walk around and admire the beautiful and colorful temples. Actually, though, there are two of lamb, and they aren’t very green, more of a bronze/brown. To tell the truth, they are hardly lambs. Of the two, the one horned lamb is the more significant. This fella made its way to Chengdu from a Beijing curio market in 1723, and though its shape is that of a lamb, if you take a closer look, you’ll notice it’s got some funny features. He embodies all of the animals of the Chinese zodiac.
You’ll also assuredly see a few people rubbing various parts of the lambs’ bodies. This practice stems from an old myth that rubbing the corresponding place on the statues when sick will make you better.
The Eight Trigram Pavilion is a symbolic architecture of Taoism which is located at the front part of the temple. It was structured according to Ying and Yang philosophy.
Qing Yang Gong is more than a home to some bronze statues. In fact, it’s the oldest temple in Chengdu, surviving numerous calamities throughout its history. It also holds the honor as one of the most important Daoist temples in China. Legend has it that the venerable Laozi, founder of Daoism, once graced The Palace of the Green Lambs and is cited as saying, “Practice the Dao for a thousand years, and you may find me again at Qing Yang Gong.” Inside the temple you’ll find a teahouse, a satisfactory vegetarian restaurant, and ample space to walk, sit and relax.
Have some delicious tea and eat at the teahouse. Drinking tea seems to be Chengdu’s favorite pasttime. Every temple or park has a teahouse, where people sit around in bamboo chairs, drink jasmine or green tea, and chat or play mah-jong. Yes, people would imagine that there are groups of friends who meet up every afternoon to while away the day.
