Huáyīn

Huayin lies at the northern foot of Mount Hua, whose precipitous peaks form one of China's Five Sacred Mountains. The Temple of the Western Peak, north of the mountain, was a place where successive dynasties honoured its deity. Its halls and courtyards stood on the plain beneath the cliffs, with stone inscriptions recording imperial rites and the work of earlier visitors.

The great earthquake of 1556 devastated Huayin and the neighbouring Wei valley. Mountain temples and other buildings were damaged, but worship continued and the Temple of the Western Peak was rebuilt. Ming inscriptions commemorated repairs and recorded the mountain's appearance, while later Qing patrons also left their mark on the sanctuary. The sacred mountain remained both a landmark above the eastern approaches to Guanzhong and a focus of pilgrimage.