A half-day trip to Jizhou flashed on Saturday, visiting the unique Dule Temple among the eight great Liao structures

After returning from Shanxi, I couldn't stop thinking about the ancient Liao architecture. After checking the information, I found that two of the eight great Liao structures are located within an hour's drive from Beijing, so I decisively planned the trip and set off immediately. Transportation 1. Self-driving: About an hour and a half around Beijing, there might be a slight traffic jam near Dule Temple if you come later. 2. Train: There are not as many trains as the usual intercity ones, so it's advised to plan ahead. There are two direct trains from Beijing at 7 am, one high-speed and one regular, with about half an hour difference in travel time, so you can choose for yourself. There are fewer trains for the return journey, and you have to wait until 4 pm for the high-speed train. (Note: Jizhou Station is actually further from the city center than Jizhou North Station, which is different from most cities) 3. Bus: There are quite a few trips back and forth between Sihui and Jizhou Bus Station, which can be checked on the WeChat mini-program 'Passenger Transport World'. Since I was traveling alone and public transport was convenient, I didn't choose to drive. I took the high-speed train C131 at 6:52 am, arriving at Dule Temple just after 8 am to avoid the peak of the crowd. Then I visited and took the bus back at noon. Eat To get to Dule Temple earlier, I only had some dry food in the morning. At around 10 am, I went to the popular online 'Sangzi Doupi Breakfast', located on the road from Dule Temple to White Pagoda Temple. It's only a few hundred meters away, within walking distance. The way of eating Doupi with fried dough is indeed new to me, and it felt okay, but it wasn't exceptionally delicious. Dule Temple 1. If you have no understanding of ancient architecture, it's suggested to do some homework. For example, the difference between Liao Dynasty architecture and Ming-Qing architecture (which is mostly seen in Beijing). Moreover, Dule Temple was also the first stop of Liang Sicheng's field survey of ancient buildings. 2. Although I have seen it countless times in books and videos, standing under the mountain gate and looking up at the huge dougong and flying eaves inherited from the late Tang Dynasty still deeply moved me. 3. Like the Wooden Pagoda in Ying County, Dule Temple's dougong does not have bird nets. You can see birds flying around, chirping, adding a lot of vitality to this thousand-year-old temple. Just staying there quietly for a while is also very beautiful. Other 1. The White Pagoda Temple happened to be freshly painted after maintenance, which was a bit too white. However, it's not too far away, so you can visit it if you have time. 2. As for the Lu Ban Temple and the Confucian Temple, since I have visited similar buildings in Beijing more often and the feedback online is generally average, I didn't go. 3. The overall urban construction of Jizhou is quite old, but once you enter the tourist area, it suddenly becomes 'textured'. This is very similar to the Wooden Pagoda in Ying County.