The Gaomiao Temple — Gaomiao Si — is the most striking building in Zhongwei's town centre: a multi-storey complex of interlocking pavilions, towers, and covered walkways that compresses Buddhist, Taoist, and Confucian iconography into a single densely layered structure. The temple dates originally from the Ming dynasty but has been rebuilt and extended numerous times; the current complex is a 20th-century version of the original, restored after damage during the Cultural Revolution.
The architectural interest lies in the vertical stacking: the temple climbs across its hillside site in overlapping tiers of tiled roofs, connected by covered staircases. Different levels serve different traditions — some halls are Buddhist, others Taoist, others contain figures from Confucian or folk religion — reflecting the syncretic religious culture of northwestern China, where clear distinctions between traditions matter less than they might in more doctrinally rigorous contexts.
The most distinctive chamber is the Hell section, a walk-through display of Buddhist visions of the afterlife with sculptural tableaux illustrating specific punishments for specific sins. It is vivid, graphic, and surprisingly funny in places — an effective piece of moral instruction that has been in temples of this type for centuries. Admission is around 30 yuan. Allow 90 minutes.