Introduction to Zhongshan Temple: Shandan County Chronicles record that Ge Shuhan, the military governor of Hexi Province in the Tang Dynasty, built a temple at the foot of Yanzhi Mountain. Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty named the mountain god Ning Jigong during his Tianbao period, and built the "Ning Jigong Temple" in Yanzhi Mountain. It was repaired in the Ming Dynasty. It is a temple, and the locals call it the Back Temple. In the 20th year of Wanli (1592 AD), Zhu Guan, the commander of the Shandan Guards, presided over the construction of a temple, which was called the Front Temple. The two temples were not far apart from each other. The people in the city always called it Zhongshan Temple. Later, because of the Ming Dynasty, Gansu governor Tian Le, Hou Donglai, and governor Zhang Cheng once cast a large bell and hung it in the temple, also known as Zhongshan Temple.
The front temple is located halfway up the mountain opposite Zhigou Gate. The back temple stands majestically on a steep cliff and can be reached along the narrow path. In the past, there were palaces, pavilions, bells and drums, studios, monks' houses, and kitchen pavilions. The morning bells and evening drums are heard, the abbots take turns, and the incense is constantly burning. During the ten years of turmoil, the ancient temple was destroyed as the "Four Olds". Today's Zhongshan Temple was rebuilt on the original site.
Every year on the sixth day of the sixth lunar month, there is a Zhongshan Temple Fair. People from Zhangye, Minle, Yongchang and other counties come to the mountain to view the scenery, pray to gods and Buddhas, and collect medicines to prevent epidemics. This custom has been passed down to this day.