Qinhuangdao - Meng Jiangnu Miao Temple

The Meng Jiangnu Miao Temple lies about 5km/3mi to the west of the Shanhaiguan Fortress. By order of the Qin Emperor Shi Huangdi hundreds of thousands of laborers had to rebuild the Great Wall in the 2nd C BC According to an old legend, Meng Jiangnu came to Shanhaiguan from far away to search for her husband who was doing socage work here. When she discovered that he had long since died from the hard labor, she cried so much that a completed section of the wall collapsed, thus releasing her husband's corpse.

Meng carried the section to the coast and threw it and him into the sea.

The temple, consisting of two halls, was erected several hundred years ago by the residents in this area. The front hall houses a terracotta statue of Meng Jiangnu. Some of the dedications engraved on the many stone tablets here originate from the Qing emperors Qianlong, Jiaqing and Daoguang.