Imposing walls of the Zhengyang Gate 正阳门
Apparently, what we had just walked through was only the outside of the Dai Temple complex. For just across the Dai Temple Arch was a large gate reminiscent of the gates outside the Forbidden Palace. That is not coincidence since the Dai Temple was one of three buildings in China that have palace features. The Zhengyang Gate serves as the entrance to the Dai Temple inner courtyard. This is also where you have to pay up to continue on.
Beyond the Zhengyang Gate 正阳门
After my friend shelled out for our entrance fee of CNY 30 each (Thanks!), we continued on to the rest of the temple. While the temple was certainly very historical, I wasn’t particularly impressed with the look of the temple itself. Maybe it was a little too authentic, as what usually happens when a place is not a super major tourist attraction. The three storey high walls surround the Dai Temple look much like the walls of the Great Wall. This is a design feature found in the old Chinese architecture. I would just have to remember that this place is already more than two thousand years old, the fact that it still looks like this is impressive in itself.
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