Zhenguo Temple, listed as part of the same World Cultural Heritage that includes Shuanglin Temple, is located in Haodong Village, 15 kilometres northeast of Pingyao Ancient Town. It consists of two interlinked courtyards that cover a total area of 13,000 square metres.
Zhenguo Temple is the only one remaining in China which exemplifies the architectural style of the Five Dynasties period (907-960).
In terms of its building technique, the most representational is the Ten-Thousand-Buddha Hall, which is one of the three oldest timberworks in mainland China. In order to protect the Ten-Thousand-Buddha Hall from degradation under the eaves, a certain kind of large eave that is far longer and wider than the room itself was adopted when it was built. 'Dougong', a kind building technique, was applied to support the large eave.
Inside the temple there are eleven sculptures that belong to the Five Dynasties. These painted sculptures are valuable in terms of archaeology. The main sculpture is a sitting sculpture of Sakyamuni (founder of Buddhism) in the middle. On its sides are the sculptures of his apprentices along with other gods. All of these sculptures have different facial expressions and shapes. Though these sculptures have been renovated several times, the distinguished features of color-paint in the Five Dynasties are obvious.