Longquan Sansheng Palace

At the base of Longquan Mountain, where cold spring water wells up from the limestone gaps of the Jiuding Longtan pool, stands the Longquan Sansheng Palace. This historic complex in Shuhe Ancient Town represents a physical meeting point of Han Buddhist architecture and Naxi mountain-building traditions. Its story began in the sixteenth century, when the Naxi Chieftain Mu Dong constructed a temple here during the Longqing era. Centuries later, during the Guangxu period of the late Qing dynasty, local villagers and members of the prosperous leather-working guild pooled their resources. They rebuilt the structure on the ruins of the older Dragon King Temple, establishing a unique space for co-worship.

The builders arranged the temple on an east-west axis, carving a terraced courtyard directly into the mountain slope. In the south wing, cobblers and tanners paid respects to their patron deity, Sun Bin, the legendary ancestor of their trade. In the west wing, worshippers sought the Goddess of Mercy, Guanyin, while the elevated north Main Hall housed the Dragon King, the ruler of rain.

To explore the temple is to encounter the physical choices of these historical communities. The Main Hall rests on a stone platform elevated one meter above the courtyard. Its sloping blue-tiled roofs feature high-pitched flying eaves, supported by post-and-beam wooden frames. On the brackets and columns, carvers left their mark through relief sculptures of birds, beasts, and mythical creatures. Inside, six preserved Ming dynasty murals display a Buddhist artistic style distinct from the nearby Baisha Murals.

On the eastern edge, the ten-meter-tall Water Tower rises directly from the edge of the spring pool. Visitors descend to the waterfront viewing gallery using two twelve-step stone staircases. On clear nights, scholars gathered along the U-shaped wooden railings of the upper level to watch the moon reflect on the dark water, a quiet ritual known as Longmen Wangyue.

In 1986, the palace became a county-level protected site, rising to a Yunnan provincial-level unit in 2012. In mid-2026, local authorities and the Gucheng District Tourism Investment Company initiated a conservation project. Workers erected scaffolding to repair the timber frames and roofs, ensuring that the physical legacy of Shuhe's leather-workers and spiritual guardians remains preserved for future generations.