Main Hall of Nanchan Temple

Architecture
Wood structure

• The Nan Chan Temple is located in Li Jiazhuang, Wutai County, Shanxi Province. Its main hall is a Tang Dynasty structure and is currently known as the earliest wooden architecture in existence.
• The overall architectural style is characterized as a "four-rafter hall with a through-eaves supported by double columns."
• The space between the column tops is connected solely by dovetail-shaped latticed brackets, without the use of common bracket sets, and the corner columns of the latticed brackets do not protrude. There is no infill woodwork between the columns; only on the central column top of the clear span is a camel hump subtly carved, upon which a single scattered bracket is placed. The intersection of the pressure groove bracket features a praying mantis head design, which supports the lifting of the eaves purlins through a replacement timber, with the joints also fashioned in the praying mantis head style.

Reference and image source: Shanxi Ancient Architecture Website