The Xuanmiao Temple lies in the heart of old Suzhou. Its main hall, the Sanqing Hall, was rebuilt in the Southern Song: nine bays wide, with a double-eaved hip-and-gable roof, it is the largest surviving Song timber building in the Jiangnan region. Its bracket sets are large and its frame heavy, keeping Song practice. Liang Sicheng took it to be the oldest surviving timber building in Jiangnan; earlier examples, such as the Baoguo Temple hall at Ningbo, were found afterwards.
