Travel guide to major temples in Beijing
Beijing weather: sunny
Accommodation: Unnamed Vision Photography Theme Hotel
Comments: There is no meal, there is Qingfeng Baozi Shop nearby. The hotel location is very good. Gongwangfu Beihai Park is within walking distance. Houhai Yandai Xie Street is close. The public transportation is also convenient. There is only one bus to the Great Wall. 877. The hotel service is very helpful. I live on the second floor. My luggage is helped by two young men. You can take photos in the leisure area. There is clothing. There is an aunt in Xingtai, Hebei Province who is very enthusiastic about how to take pictures and make it. She is very considerate. She also gave welcome fruits and the fruits are put in the refrigerator. It is so considerate.
The order of the full text does not follow the reputation of the temple, but simply follows the visit time.
Attached are a few strategies and tips for reference only for interested students.
While visiting and writing, I gradually found that the more I wrote, the more I wrote, so I divided it into two chapters:
The first chapter describes the ten temples in the city, which are mainly concentrated in the area within the Second Ring Road of the capital;
The next chapter describes the ten temples outside the city, which are basically within the distance that can be reached by car.
Another: How many temples are there in the capital? According to statistics from "Beijing Temples" published in 2013, there are about 135.
Last winter, I accidentally got a postcard from Zhihua Temple-only to realize that behind the lively Galaxy SOHO, such a slightly mysterious temple still existed so quietly. As a result, the idea of looking for a temple in the capital emerged. After checking the data one after another and doing some homework, I found that in addition to the famous Tanzhe Temple and Dajue Temple, there are actually many temples hidden in the Second Ring Road. They are either prosperous or quiet... and this modern and hot city is accompanied by movement and stillness.
In Beijing, temples are like scattered pearls, dotted with the cultural heritage and historical memory of this ancient city. It was an interesting thing to find and discover. It took almost half a year to slowly search, slowly look, and slowly feel: some of those temples had incense, some had monks and nuns, some were prosperous but too noisy, and some had neither incense nor monks, but were just cultural relics protection units. In temples that are old or new, there are hidden history that is not found in books, cultural relics that make people look up and admire, and countless legends and stories.
During this period, I chatted with several friends about temples. What exactly is a real temple? What does a temple mean to each of us? In the eyes of a thousand people, there are a thousand temples that look like, either faith, purity, or just curiosity. In my heart, temples are places where we are calm and calm. They are places where we can calm down, think about, or let go of many things.
[Location and Transportation] No. 12 Yonghegong Street, Dongcheng Area, Yonghegong Station, Metro Line 5 and Line 2, there is a small parking lot at the main entrance. The parking spaces are very limited and it is inconvenient to drive there.
[Opening Hours] Monday to Sunday, 9:00-16:00/16:30 (off-season November to March/peak season April to October).
[Ticket Information] 25 yuan, with discounts and exemptions for certificates, elderly people, etc.
[Buddhist Temple History and Ancient Architectural Relics]
The Royal Head Temple of the Qing Dynasty is a complete institution of Tibetan Buddhism. In the thirty-third year of Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty (1694), Emperor Kangxi built a mansion here and awarded it to his fourth son Prince Yong, known as Prince Yong's Mansion. In the third year of Yongzheng (1725), the palace was changed into a palace and called Yonghe Palace. In the 13th year of Yongzheng (1735), Yongzheng died, and the coffin was parked here. Therefore, the original green glazed tiles of the main hall of Yonghe Temple were changed to yellow glazed tiles. Because Emperor Qianlong was born here, Yonghe Palace had two emperors and became a "dragon hidden land". Therefore, the palace was made of yellow tiles and red walls, the same specifications as the Forbidden City Palace. In the ninth year of Qianlong (1744), Yonghe Temple was transformed into a Lama Temple, with special officials for Prime Minister Affairs Wang to manage the affairs of the palace without any staff. It can be said that Yonghegong was the highest standard Buddhist temple in the country in the middle and late Qing Dynasty.
After liberation, the government carried out comprehensive renovations in 1950, 1952, and 1979, and announced it as a national key cultural relic protection unit in 1961. It was opened to the public in 1981. In March 1961, the Lama Temple was listed by the State Council as one of the first batch of national key cultural relics protection units in the country. The entire temple consists of three exquisite archways and Yonghe Gate, Yonghe Palace Hall,"Sixue Hall"(Pharmacist Hall, Mathematics Hall, Tantra Hall, Lecture Hall) and three cultural relics exhibition rooms. Each temple houses Dover statues, Thangka and a large number of precious cultural relics. The most famous ones are the 500 Rohan Mountain of rosewood, the golden nanmu Buddhist niche and the 18-meter-high sandalwood Buddha.
[Tour Notes]
Yonghegong is the most famous for its prosperous incense, and it really breaks the threshold on the first day of the New Year every year. Even on weekdays, there is an endless stream of people coming to visit and burn incense. Just one day in spring, a good friend suggested going to Yonghe Temple for a walk, saying that he would burn incense and change his fortune to relax his heart that was dragged down by the cumbersome life. In my opinion, luck is no different from the fate of east and west. Whether you worship Buddha or not, there will be no more or less, no more or less. Burning incense and paying homage to Buddha is more of a process of searching for our own hearts.
So, one early morning, we came to the Lama Temple together, looked up at the face of the Buddha statue in the center of the bustling city, and listened to the curling sound of the Buddha. For me, I also started my journey of exploring ancient Buddhist temples and cultural relics from Yonghe Temple. I remember going to Yonghe Temple twice when I was very young. At that time, I could still see many cultural relics. Unfortunately, I was too young and did not understand history. Nowadays, ordinary tourists can see fewer and fewer cultural relics. Everything is fate with those Buddha statues and monks who can no longer see each other.
[Location and Transportation] No. 24 Wutasi Village, Xicheng District, National Library of Metro Line 9 and Line 4 (Exit Southeast C), which is inconvenient to drive.
[Opening Hours] The Five Pagoda Temple is also a stone carving museum. It is closed on Mondays and closes all day from Tuesday to Sunday from 9:00 to 16:30 and 16:00.
[Ticket Information] 15 yuan, with discounts and exemptions for certificates, elderly people, etc. Free tickets for 200 people before Wednesday every week.
[Buddhist Temple History and Ancient Architectural Relics]
The Buddha Pagoda of Wuta Temple was built in about the ninth year of Chenghua in the Ming Dynasty (1473) and was named the "King Kong Throne Tower of Zhenjue Temple". According to historical records, in the early years of Yongle of the Ming Dynasty, Indian monk Bandida came to Beijing from the Western Regions and presented five golden Buddhas and the specifications of the Indian-style "Buddha Gaya Tower", or the Vajra throne. Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty was very speculative in discussing classics and laws with him. He named him the title of Grand State Teacher, awarded him a gold seal, and granted him land on the north bank of the Foreign Minister River (now Xizhimen)(now Gaoliang River) to build a temple for it. The temple was named "Zhenjue". Later, according to the rules provided by this eminent monk, the King Kong Throne Tower was built and the temple was rebuilt. After completion, the Wuta Temple faced the long river in front of it and leaned against the Western Hills. It became a place for scholars in the capital to climb high at the Double Ninth Festival and go on the Qingming Festival at that time.
Since the late Qing Dynasty, the Five Pagoda Temple gradually declined, and in the early years of the Republic of China, only one tower stood in rubble. Due to being unattended, the bronze gilt golden pagoda of the pagoda was stolen many times. The Vajra Throne Tower of the Wuta Temple is a pagoda in the form of the Buddha's Gaya Jingsha House in India (the memorial tower built at the Gaya Mountain Temple where Sakyamuni attained enlightenment). Among the more than ten similar towers in my country, the Vajra Throne Tower of the Wuta Temple is of the earliest age and the most beautiful style. It can be said to be a representative work of architecture and stone carving art in the Ming Dynasty, and a model for the integration of Chinese and foreign cultures.
In addition, the open-air display of the Stone Carving Museum is divided into eight residential areas according to content and function, displaying more than 500 kinds of stone carvings from past dynasties, plus the stone carvings from past dynasties in the warehouse, totaling more than a thousand kinds. Among them are the earliest existing stone carvings in Beijing,"The Book of Youzhou in the Ancient Han Dynasty and the Shinto of Qin King" columns and stone watchtower components; there are precious Northern Dynasty elephants, epitaph of the Tang and Ming dynasties, Jin and Yuan stone carvings, Qing Dynasty stone Xiangxue and Fa paste and calligraphy carved stones.
[Tour Notes] The Stone Carving Museum is a small minority museum. Usually, there are not many people visiting it and it is very quiet. Only the sound of bells on the eaves of the tower can be heard. After seeing the King Kong Throne Tower, Fang felt the beauty and exquisiteness of ancient architecture and stone carving art. Other cultural relics in the museum also had great origins, and the volunteers gave very detailed and in-depth explanations to enrich their knowledge and knowledge. The most beautiful season in the Five Pagoda Temple should be late autumn. There are two ginkgo trees in front of the tower that are more than 600 years old. It is a good place to take pictures of ginkgo trees and ancient buildings. The last photo shows the flowering of the official fruit tree, which is said to be very rare.
[Location and Transportation] No. 3, Tianningsi Front Street, Xicheng District, southwest corner of Tianningsi Bridge in the West Second Ring Road, 1.5 kilometers walk from Exit C of Daguan Ying Station on Metro Line 7, making it inconvenient to drive.
[Opening Hours] Admission stops at 9:00- 16:00 all day from Monday to Sunday.
[Ticket Information] Free tickets.
[History of Buddhist temples and cultural relics of ancient construction] During the Sui Emperor period, the Buddhist relics consecrated were stored in the proposed towers of the thirty prefectures of the Central Plains. Among them, Famen Temple and Tianning Temple were one of them. In the second year of Sui Renshou, the Buddhist relics were entered into the towers. When it was first built, the tower was a wooden tower with steps to climb. At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the temple was destroyed in the war, only the isolated tower was left. In the Liao Dynasty, it was transformed into an octagonal and thirteen-story solid brick tower with dense eaves, which was rebuilt in the Qing Dynasty. The tower is 57.8 meters tall and has semicircular ticket doors on all sides of the tower. On both sides of the door are embossed Vajra, Bodhisattva, and Tianbu, and the brick pillars are embossed lifting dragons.
[Tour Notes] Every time I drive past Tianning Temple Bridge, I can see this tower. I am very curious. Finally met. After making many twists and turns in Xiaohu Tongli on the edge of the Second Ring Road, he finally found the main entrance. This once grand temple in history was occupied by a thermal power plant and a film factory after liberation. The monks returned to the secular world and left. Today, only the brick towers of the Liao Dynasty are left, which are poorly protected and severely damaged. When taking pictures, the tall chimney next to it was particularly eyesore.
[Location and Transportation] No. 7 Fayuan Siqian Street (near Niujie) in Xicheng District is inconvenient to drive. After exiting Exit D of Caishikou Station of Metro Line 4 and Line 7, you can follow the navigation and pass through a "Lanman Hutong" under renovation. In the future, it will be built into a cultural district centered on Fayuan Temple.
[Opening Hours] From 8:30 to 16:00 all day from Monday to Sunday, morning classes in the temple are 6:00 and evening classes are 16:00. Participants who want to entertain them can arrange their own time.
[Ticket Information] Free tickets.
[Buddhist Temple History and Ancient Architectural Relics]
Fayuan Temple was built in the 19th year of Zhenguan (645) of the Tang Dynasty. It was more than 1300 years ago. Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty ordered the construction of a temple here to mourn the soldiers who died in the northern expedition to Liaodong and named it "Minzhong Temple". After the restoration in the Qing Dynasty, Emperor Yongzheng changed its name to "Fayuan Temple" and designated it as the Luzong Dojo. The plaque "Fahai Zhenyuan" given by Emperor Qianlong still hangs in the Daxiong Hall. In 1956, the China Buddhist Academy, the highest institution of Han Buddhism, was established here, forming the current pattern of being both a Buddhist academy and a cultural protection unit.
In the center of the Daxiong Hall are enshrined the "Three Sages of Huayan", namely the statues of Piluchana Buddha, Manjusri and Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, made for the Ming Dynasty and covered with gold lacquer. The Piluzhana Buddha in the middle sits on the Sumi seat. It is 2 meters tall and has a halo behind it, with a height of 3.97 meters. Manjusri and Samhyan are separated on both sides, and the statue is 2.14 meters high. These three statues are magnificent and solemn and beautifully carved. They are among the best among the statues of the Ming Dynasty.
On both sides of the hall are sitting statues of the Eighteen Arhats, about 1.35 meters high, with wooden bodies covered with gold and made of the Qing Dynasty. In the main hall, the stone pillars of Liangqing Dynasty to the south are made of lotus petals with rolling leaves. They are probably original when the temple was built in the early Tang Dynasty. Its pattern is similar to the pattern of the stone building lost in the temple in the 14th year of Tianyuan of the Tang Dynasty (726). Minzhong Terrace is known as the "Buddha Prayer Platform", also known as the "Guanyin Hall". The base of the platform is more than one meter high and is surrounded by brick fences. The hall is built on the platform. This hall has a unique structure. The exterior wall is framed by twelve pillars, and the interior is supported by twelve pillars, the same style as the Wanchun Pavilion in the Imperial Garden of the Forbidden City. The stone carvings, Buddhist relics, etc. of Fayuan Temple are preserved here. The Tang Dynasty's "Ode to the Unsullied Jingguang Pagoda","The Sarira Collected in Minzhong Temple", and "Cheng Jin Made the Dharoni Sutra Tower for Zen Master Yufu"(Ying calendar seven years, 957 years), the Liao Dynasty's "Bodhisattva Sarira Letter on the Underground Palace of Yanjing Daminzhong Temple" is the most precious. The gables outside the temple are also embedded with the remnants of the Tang Dynasty's "General Yunhui Stele" copied by Weng Fangwang in the Qing Dynasty. There are also inscriptions such as "Eight Oons of Fa Yuan" and "Heart Sutra", which are important materials for studying Buddhism and the history of Fa Yuan Temple.
In front of Jingye Hall, there is a huge stone bowl and a double-layered stone seat. Around it are carved sea water patterns and images such as mountain dragons, seahorses and eight treasures. The carvings are extremely exquisite, almost comparable to the mountains and jade seas of Tuancheng, Beihai. Jingye Hall is dedicated to a giant bronze statue of the Ming Dynasty Pilu Buddha statue. It reaches the roof (4.58 meters) and has three floors. The lower layer is a giant seat with chiba lotus petals, with a Buddha statue carved on each petal; the middle layer is the east, west, south and north of the Buddha; the uppermost layer is the Pilu Buddha. The southwest corner of Fayuan Temple originally has a dirt-free Jingguang Pagoda. The tower was built in the second year of Tang Zhide (757) and has a brick structure and a height of about 3.3 meters.
[Tour Notes]
"One Fayuan Temple half of Chinese history" is true. Many people know about Fayuan Temple, probably because of the historical novel "Beijing Fayuan Temple" written by Li Ao, and the grand occasion of the lilacs of Fayuan Temple every spring. Although the lilac season was over when I came, I still had the destiny to see a flower that was released alone. It was a worthwhile trip. After the visit, I happened to hear the monks chanting scriptures before dinner. I felt enlightened and couldn't help but sigh: "Min Zhong recalled the past and looked at the lilacs silently, and learned from the boundless sea of learning and meditated in meditation."
After going out, I found that it was right next to Niujie, not far away from the China Islamic Academy. After checking the data, I found that Niujie area was not a Hui inhabited area at first. Buddhist temples were originally very common in Niujie area. Later, with historical development, it gradually became a Hui inhabited area, forming a pattern where different religious buildings gathered. The welfare of visitors is that they can have a good meal on Niujie-not far from Fayuan Temple, there is a time-honored brand "Xiangyun Pavilion" on Niujie. It is not big enough to enter in, and the doornail patty is simply too delicious. There are also many Muslim Baiji snacks, Niujie Lao Peppy, Northwest Muslim restaurants, etc. nearby. Please search for the public yourself.
[Location and Transportation] No. 25, Fuchengmennei Street, Xicheng District, is inconvenient to drive. It is two to three hundred meters west after exiting Exit B of Xisi Station on Metro Line 4.
[Opening Hours] 7:00 to 16:30 all day from Monday to Sunday.
[Ticket Information] Religious places are free of charge.
[History of Buddhist temples and ancient cultural relics] Guangji Temple was built in the late Song Dynasty and was named Xiliucun Temple. It was rebuilt in the early years of Shun tomorrow. In the second year of Chenghua (1466), Emperor Xianzong issued an edict to name it "Hongci Guangji Temple". The temple was burned down in 1931 and rebuilt in 1935. The buildings inside the temple maintain the pattern of the Ming Dynasty and are divided into three roads. The temple collects many precious cultural relics, such as the statues of the third Buddha and the eighteen Arhats in the Ming Dynasty, the Han white jade ring platform built during the Kangxi period, and the bronze tripod from the Qianlong period. The Buddhist classics collected by Guangji Temple are very numerous. There are 23 kinds of characters and more than 100,000 volumes of Buddhist classics and works in the library alone. There are 12 versions of the "Da Sutra" in the collection alone. It is an important historical material for studying the occurrence, development and evolution of Chinese Buddhism.
[Tour Notes] Guangji Temple is also the seat of the Buddhist Association of China, so many buildings have been renovated and have an elegant environment. Many people say that they like to come here in spring to enjoy flowers, including magnolias, lilacs and crabapple peonies. There is a great number of believers in the temple, and volunteers are distributing free Buddhist books. When I went there, I saw an old lady reading the scriptures loudly next to a main hall. There were also a few cats walking around in the temple who were not afraid of people. Maybe there must be someone feeding them. It was very cute.
[Location and Transportation] No. 171, Fuchengmen Nei Street, Xicheng District, walk more than 800 meters east after exiting Exit B of Fuchengmen Station on Metro Line 2, or stroll west a few hundred meters from Guangji Temple. There is a small parking lot next to the temple. Not many tourists can park (some people say it will be changed to an internal parking lot after May Day), so it is not recommended to drive there.
[Opening Hours] Closed on Mondays, from 9:00 to 16:30 all day from Tuesday to Sunday.
[Ticket Information] It is 20 yuan, with discounts and exemptions for the elderly, etc., and free tickets. It is free for 200 tourists before Wednesday.
[History of Buddhist temples and ancient cultural relics] Miaoying Temple is a Tibetan Buddhist Gelug Temple. It was built in the Yuan Dynasty and was initially named "Great Sage Shouwan 'an Temple". The white pagoda built in the temple in the Yuan Dynasty is the earliest and largest in China. Lama Pagoda. In the eighth year of Xuande of the Ming Dynasty (1433), Emperor Xuanzong of the Ming Dynasty ordered the maintenance of the White Tower. In the first year of Tianshun (1457), the temple was rebuilt and named "Miaoying Temple" after its completion. Monasteries were repaired many times during the Ming, Qing and Republic of China. Emperor Kangxi and Emperor Qianlong both had restored inscriptions written by the imperial pen. In 1900, the Eight-Power Allied Forces captured Beijing and stormed into Miaoying Temple to sweep away ritual implements, supplies, etc. In the middle and late Qing Dynasty, monks rented out auxiliary halls and open spaces, and gradually evolved into one of the famous temple fairs in Beijing. Every time the festival was celebrated, the place became very lively, so that the custom of "August 8th, walking the white tower" was formed among the people in Beijing.
[Tour Notes]
There are not many tourists in the temple. There is nothing to see except the white pagoda and several stone statues. There is also an exhibition of Tibetan Buddhist statues. The white tower was no longer accessible, so he could only walk around a few times under the tower. There is an ancient catalpa tree to the north of the White Tower. It is when the flowers bloom and the flowers bloom. If you want to take photos of the White Tower, it is suitable to take photos from a distance away and in the surrounding Hu Tongli. Some surrounding hutongs are also very interesting: Qiandhanshou Hutong, Houdhanshou Hutong, Beikujiao Hutong, Nankujiao Hutong, Dachaye Hutong, and Xiaochaye Hutong.
After I came back, I checked the information again, and many words said "Shadowless White Pagoda is Shadowless" and said that the shadow of the White Pagoda is in Xizang. Especially during the repair of the white tower after the Tangshan earthquake in 1976, a large number of cultural relics such as scriptures were discovered. The Buddhist scriptures, the carved Guanyin statue, the decorated cassock, the five Buddha crowns, the Qianlong handwritten "Paramita Heart Sutra", the Tibetan "Zun Victory Mantra", the Bronze III Buddha statue, the Red Gold Sarira Longevity Buddha Buddha, etc. were preserved in the gilded small territory on the top of the tower in 1753.
[Location and Transportation] No. 5 Lumicang Hutong, Dongcheng Area. It is inconvenient to drive. Walk 1.3 kilometers after exiting Exit C of Dengshikou Station on Metro Line 5.
[Opening Hours] Closed on Mondays, Tuesday to Sunday from 8:00 to 16:30, and closed at 16:00.
[Ticket Information] Zhihua Temple is affiliated to the Beijing Cultural and Cultural Exchange Center under the Beijing City Bureau of Cultural Relics. Admission is 20 yuan. There are discounts and exemptions for the elderly, etc., and free tickets. The first 200 tourists visit for free before Wednesday. Volunteers give lectures every day. If you can meet a very good guide, you can talk endlessly for two hours.
[History of Buddhist temples] The predecessor of Zhihua Temple was the home temple of a great eunuch in the early Ming Dynasty. The eunuchs in the Ming Dynasty had exclusive power. Because the eunuchs could not have descendants to continue the incense, they built a temple for worship. Later, the Qing Dynasty became a royal temple, and many of the ornaments inside can still vaguely see this history. The stone tablet in front of the Tathagata Hall is engraved with documents about the chief eunuch. After being reported during the Qing Dynasty, he believed that the eunuch was not worthy of owning incense, so the text was scraped off. In ancient times, the music of court etiquette could not be spread across the palace gates. The birth of Beijing music also originated from the ancestral temple of eunuchs. In addition, Zhihua Temple retains a Qianlong version of the Tripitaka Sutra, with a total of 724 letters and more than 7240 volumes. It has collected 1675 Buddhist scriptures and weighs 400 tons. It is one of the two remaining Chinese Tripitaka Sutra tablets in the world. It is the most woodblock book in China. The caisson of Zhihua Temple is very famous among the caisson of the Ming Dynasty. Its craftsmanship is exquisite and its structure is complex. It is the best architectural wood carving of the Ming Dynasty.
[Tour Notes] Although it is called Zhihua Temple, there are no monks or religious activities. Most of the tourists come for the "Beijing Music" derived from court etiquette. It is a living fossil of music that has not been cut off for more than 500 years. It is continued by word of mouth. In addition to music, there are also particularly precious cultural relics here: the exquisite "Zhuanjing Collection", the murals of the Ming Dynasty (which is said to be comparable to the murals of Fahai Temple), and the wood carving art of the Ten Thousand Buddha Pavilion (only the Bodhisattva in the main hall can be seen, but not the Ten Thousand Buddha statues in the attic, as well as three exquisite cellars. Unfortunately, only one authentic piece can be seen. The other two pieces were sold during the Republic of China and are now stored in two museums in the United States). Standing in the courtyard of the temple and looking north, it is the iconic building on the East Second Ring Road-Galaxy SOHO. Young and ancient, traditional and modern, accidentally meet here.
[Location and Transportation] No. 19, Hutong, Beixiao Street, Dongzhimen, Dongcheng Area, is inconvenient to drive. Walk 1.3 kilometers after exiting Exit B of Beixinqiao Station of Metro Line 5, or walk 900 meters after exiting Exit A of Metro Line 2.
[Opening Hours] 8:30 to 16:30 all day from Monday to Sunday.
[Ticket Information] Free tickets. Religious sites, tourists can visit a small area, and there are notices that men refuse to enter.
[History of Buddhist temples and ancient cultural relics] The history of Tongjiao Temple can be traced back to the Ming Dynasty. It was first founded by an eunuch in the Ming Dynasty. In the Qing and Ming Dynasties, it was rebuilt into Ni Temple and renamed "Tongjiao Zen Forest". In 1942, two Fujian bhikshunis Kaihui and Shengyu lived in Guangci Temple in Beijing. They studied precepts and listened to scriptures at the Jinglian Temple Dharma Academy. They decided to rebuild Tongjiao Temple, raised funds to renovate the main hall, and built the north and south towers, Buddhist chanting hall, Wuguantang, Dalao and other buildings, and were renamed "Tongjiao Temple". After the founding of New China, Tongjiao Temple has always strictly adhered to the Buddhist temple rules, and the nuns lived a religious life in accordance with the law.
[Tour Notes] One of the few bhikshuni Buddhist temples in Beijing is more like a Taoyuan hidden within the Second Ring Road, where the small blessings of female nuns can be seen everywhere. I once talked to a friend about temples. He thought that only places with religious activities can be called temples. However, my interest lies in history and cultural relics. Whether there are religious activities is not a criterion for judging whether it is worth visiting. However, the religious atmosphere of Tongjiao Temple really moved me. Unlike many noisy temples, it is quiet and peaceful. You can see laymen busy in the temple everywhere. A few fearless pigeons pecking on the ground and feeding the grain. The bulletin board is all about Buddhist activities.
[Location and Transportation] No. 31, Yaer Hutong, Houhai, Xicheng District, is not accessible by car. Walk 1.3 kilometers after Exit B of Beixinqiao Station on Metro Line 5, or walk 900 meters after Exit A of Metro Line 2. Guanghua Temple is located on the north bank of Shichahai and Houhai, adjacent to Yinding Bridge in the east and Soong Ching Ling's former residence in the west. It is also very suitable for visiting Hainan Luogu Lane in Qianhai and Houhai.
[Opening Hours] 8:00 to 15:00 all day from Monday to Sunday.
[Ticket Information] Religious places are free of charge.
[History of Buddhist temples and ancient cultural relics] A famous large-scale Buddhist temple in the capital is also the seat of the Beijing City Buddhist Association. Guanghua Temple was built around the Yuan Dynasty, expanded many times during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and once became the capital library in the late Qing and early Republic of China. In September 1952, Master Xu Yun came to Beijing to stay in Xiguanghua Temple. At that time, Buddhist figures in Beijing, Li Jishen, Ye Gongchuo, Chen Mingshu, Juzan and Buddhists came to pay homage to this Buddhist master and Zen monk. The peaceful Guanghua Temple was famous for a time.
[Tour Notes] There are many Buddhist activities here, with a lot of incense and incense. On the first and fifteenth days of the lunar calendar, there are Buddhist activities in Guanghua Temple, and the Beijing Buddhist Music Troupe plays at Guanghua Temple every Saturday. The entrance of the main hall is specially built for believers to pay homage to Buddha. Every corner of the temple is filled with people reading scriptures. There are vendors at the entrance selling loaches and small turtles for release. However, my personal feeling is that it is too noisy and has a commercial atmosphere, which is inconsistent with my idea of Buddhist land. Fortunately, what is slightly clean is the small courtyard of the Institute of Buddhist Culture. You can see a stone tablet dating from the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty. There are flowers and trees in the courtyard, shaded by ancient trees, and a few innocent kittens.
[Location and Transportation] No. 11 Huangsi Street, Chaoyang District, Beijing City, Anhuaqiao Station (Exit E) and Andeli North Street Station (Exit D) on Line 8, the surrounding parking spaces are very limited and it is inconvenient to drive there.
[Opening Hours] Closed every Monday to Friday, open to the public every Saturday and Sunday: (Open at 9:00, stop admission at 16:00, and close at 16:30).
[Ticket Information] 20 yuan, with discounts and exemptions for certificates, elderly people, etc. Tickets can be reserved on the Xihuang Temple Museum website:
, there is no need to reserve tickets. You can see the introduction of Xihuang Temple.
[Buddhist Temple History and Ancient Architectural Relics]
Huangsi is actually two parts-Donghuang Temple and Xihuang Temple. Donghuang Temple has long disappeared in the waves of history. Some say it was destroyed by the invasion of the Eight-Power Allied Forces, others say it was destroyed by the Japanese... There are different opinions, but there is no final conclusion. As a former royal monastery and later a senior Buddhist college of the Tibetan language department in China, Xihuang Temple was closed to the public for more than 300 years. Until it became the Xihuang Temple Museum in 2018, ordinary people were able to enter it. It integrates Tibetan, Han and Indian architectural art and can be regarded as a treasure of the architectural art of the royal Tibetan Buddhist temples.
Xihuang Temple was built in the eighth year of Shunzhi in the Qing Dynasty (1651). It is a famous royal temple directly under the jurisdiction of the Lifan Yuan in the Qing Dynasty. The existing Qingjing Huacheng Tower Courtyard in the temple adopts the traditional layout of the Han Buddhist monastery "Jialan Seven Hall" and is divided into three courtyards: the first courtyards include the Shanmen Hall, the Bell and Drum Tower, and the East and West Auxiliary Buildings; the second courtyards include the Tianwang Hall, the Hanging Flower Gate, and the East and West Zen Rooms; The third Jinluoyuan building includes the Daxiong Hall, the Qinjinghua City Tower, the Qianlong Imperial Brush Stele Pavilion, the East and West Zen Rooms, and the Huixiang Pavilion.
The Xihuang Temple Museum is mainly composed of the nearly 300-year-old Qinghuacheng Pagoda Courtyard. The original display in the museum is the Qinghuacheng Pagoda, Qianlong Imperial Brush Stone Carving Pavilion, etc. The permanent exhibitions include the Sixth Panchen Lama Exhibition, the Tibetan Buddhism Level III Academic Title Exhibition, Qianlong Imperial Brush Stone Carving Exhibition, Qinghuacheng Tower Exhibition, etc., and the temporary exhibitions include the Thangka Exhibition, Buddhist Culture Ceramics Exhibition, etc. The museum also contains pagoda cultural relics, ritual objects, Buddha statues, Thangka, scripture scrolls, etc. The collection displays are diverse and rich, reflecting the profound historical and cultural heritage of the Xihuang Temple Museum.
[Tour Notes]
I used to hear about Huangsi Street and thought it was just a place name, but it was not. After more than half a year of visiting temples, I gradually realized that the East and West Huang Temple were temples that actually existed in history, and as a high-ranking royal temple, it has always maintained a secret. In particular, Huangsi Street is now a place where courtyards are concentrated, making it even more mysterious and inaccessible. I walked into this mysterious courtyard on a hot afternoon. The main entrance hall was under renovation and there were not many tourists.
Against the clean blue sky, the Qing Purification City Tower appears whiter and taller. Only two huge stone steles record history that has never been recorded in history textbooks. I carefully watched the exhibition on the "Liangzhou Talks" and learned more about the history of Xizang and Tibetan Buddhism; I carefully watched an exhibition about Thangka. Those familiar taras, Vajra statues and Bodhisattva statues, seemed so far away because of the gorgeous coloring, not as lifelike as the old Thangka covered with dust floating in other temples.
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