Get to know Wanrong County
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- Administrative area
- County · 县
- Part of
- Yuncheng
- Chinese name
- 万荣县
- Local areas
- County guide
Area & population
- Population · 2020
- 361,956
Source: cited geographic source, as of the dates shown.
History
Wanrong County was formed in 1954 by merging Wanquan (万泉) and Ronghe (荣河) counties. Ronghe had been called Baoding (宝鼎), 'treasure cauldron', from 722 after an auspicious cauldron was found there, and took the name Ronghe in 1011. The county seat is Jiedian (解店镇).
What to see
The Houtu Temple, also called the Fenyin Houtu Temple (汾阴后土祠), stands in Miaoqian village (庙前村) of Ronghe town, south of the Fen and east of the Yellow River. Emperor Wu of Han made it the main place where emperors sacrificed to the earth, and he came to sacrifice here eight times; emperors of the Tang and Song also came in person, among them Emperor Zhenzong of Song in 1011. Emperor Wu's 'Autumn Wind' poem (秋风辞) is said to have been written on one of these journeys, and a stele of the poem carved in 1271 is kept in the Autumn Wind Tower (秋风楼), from which the Fen and the Yellow River can be seen. The temple became a national key cultural relics protection unit in 1996.
In the centre of the county town, the Dongyue Temple (东岳庙) was rebuilt between 1291 and 1297 and has been nationally protected since 1988. Feiyun Tower, just inside its gate, is 23.19 metres tall, with three storeys under four tiers of eaves, 345 sets of bracket clusters and bare, unpainted timber; its present form dates from a repair in 1746. A local saying has it that half of the Jiedian tower is stuck in the clouds, and it served as a model for a setting in the video game Black Myth: Wukong. The county also has the Jiwang Temple (稷王庙) and the Wanquan Confucian Temple (万泉文庙) among its national protected sites, and its highest point is the main peak of Mount Jiwang (稷王山), at 1,411.2 metres.
Local culture
Wanrong jokes (万荣笑话) were added to the national list of intangible cultural heritage in 2008. The China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network traces them to the late Ming and early Qing and says their hallmark is 'zheng' (挣), a stubborn, argumentative streak in characters who hold to a skewed logic and refuse to give way.
Highlights
- Houtu Temple 后土祠: Han imperial earth-altar temple at Miaoqian village; national protected site since 1996.
- Feiyun Tower 飞云楼: 23.19-metre unpainted timber tower inside the Dongyue Temple gate.
- Dongyue Temple 东岳庙: Rebuilt 1291-1297 in the county town; national protected site since 1988.
- Autumn Wind Tower 秋风楼: Houses a 1271 stele of Emperor Wu's 'Autumn Wind' poem.
- Wanrong jokes 万荣笑话: Folk jokes built on stubborn logic; national intangible heritage since 2008.
Sources for this guide
笑话（万荣笑话） - 中国非物质文化遗产网 · China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
万荣县 - 维基百科，自由的百科全书 · Wikipedia (Chinese) · CC BY-SA 4.0
万荣后土庙 - 维基百科，自由的百科全书 · Wikipedia (Chinese) · CC BY-SA 4.0
万荣东岳庙 - 维基百科，自由的百科全书 · Wikipedia (Chinese) · CC BY-SA 4.0
Original English written from the listed sources and checked sentence by sentence against quoted extracts by a separate reviewer. Updated 2026-09-25.
Explore Wanrong County
Core places to explore, with English and Chinese names.
Places to explore around Wanrong County
Feiyun Tower at Wanrong Dongyue Temple, with red lanterns hanging beneath its eaves · 万荣东岳庙飞云楼，檐下悬挂红灯笼 Source-recorded photograph date: 2024-04-02.Feiyun Tower飞云楼
Feiyun Tower is the prominent timber tower at Dongyue Temple in Wanrong County.
Read the place guide →
The mountain gate and stage building of Houtu Temple, Wanrong County · 运城市万荣县后土祠山门兼戏台 Source-recorded photograph date: 2013-09-05 13:52:19.Houtu Temple后土祠
Houtu Temple stands at Miaoqian Village in Ronghe Town, Wanrong County, near the Yellow River and its meeting with the Fen River.
Read the place guide →Local life & food
Wanrong County local specialties
万荣县特色美食 · 1 specialties to discover
Ronghe steamed vegetables 荣河蒸菜AI dish illustration / AI 菜品示意图
The dish combines tender vegetables with a light grain coating. Its flavour depends strongly on the garlic, oil and sauce added at the table.
Source ↗Read the dish guide →All dish names · 全部菜名 (1)
More dishes from across Shanxi are in the Shanxi food guide.
Plan your visit
Getting there
Wanrong County is about 50 km in a straight line from central Yuncheng. Search for 万荣县 in a map app to find stations and your accommodation.
Where to stay →Build your route
Feiyun Tower and Houtu Temple are both listed here. The linked place guides have entrance and visit details.
Continue with Yuncheng →More in Yuncheng
Sources & geographic information
Administrative names and parent areas: Official geographic directory · Reference date 2026-09-06.
Some facts checked against 万荣县 — Wikipedia contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Some facts checked against 万荣后土庙 — Wikipedia contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Some facts checked against 万荣东岳庙 — Wikipedia contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photo: Feiyun Tower · Patrick20242023 · CC BY-SA 4.0. Full frame retained; proportionally resized and converted to WebP. No retouching or changes to the photographed subject. Card displays may crop the view.
Photo: Houtu Temple · 猫猫的日记本 · CC BY-SA 3.0. Full frame retained; proportionally resized and converted to WebP. No retouching or changes to the photographed subject. Card displays may crop the view.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Pins mark approximate centres, not entrances or boundaries.