Built in 1420 (the 18th year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty), Imperial Ancestral Temple (Taimiao) is situated on the east side of Tian’anmen. It used to be the imperial ancestral temple for offering sacrifices to Heaven and the Earth in the Ming and Qing dynasties.
Taoism, a religion native to China, has a history of 1,800 years. It originated from shamanism and the various practices intended to ensure immortality in the Qin (221-207 BC) and Western Han (206 BC-AD 24) dynasties. Zhang Daoling is credited with founding the religion of Taoism on Heming Mountain (in Dayi County, Sichuan Province) during the reign of Emperor Shundi (126-144).
Beijing Art Museum is located in Wanshou Temple(the Temple of Longevity). Wanshou Temple was built in 1577 under the reign of Wanli Emperor of the Ming dynasty to store Buddhist scriptures in Chinese. It gradually became a temporary imperial dweling and a place of birthday celebration for the imperial family during the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
Beijing Art Museum has collected and preserved the precious historical relics such as bronze and jade articles of Shang and Zhou Dynasties (17th-3th centuries B.C), and the ancient art treasures as potteries, porcelains, enamels, carved lacquer ware, ivory carving ,wood carving, etc of the past dynasties.
Most of time during this season of the year, the weather in Beijing is just very nice. And today I visit the Tianning Temple, which is free of charge.
Jie Tai Temple, or Jie Tan Temple (the temple of the altar) is situated on Ma’an hillside of the Western Hills in Beijing 25 kilometers from Beijing. First built in the reign of the first emperor of the Sui Dynasty (581- 600) and named as Hui Ju Temple, it has a history of over 1,400 years.
In the reign of Xianyong of the Liao Dynasty (1065-1074), a monk named Fa Jun built the altar here. Later during the Jin, Ming and Qing Dynasties, Buddhist Monks came all the way to build temples here and help people attain full monks status. In the reign of Zhengtong Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, the temple was renamed Wanshou (Longevity).
As ceremony of attaining monkhood used to be held here, it is also called Jie Tan Temple (Jie means Buddhist percepts and Tan means altar). Along with Zhaoqing Temple in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province and Kaiyuan Temple in Quanzhou, Fujian Province, it is one of China’s Three Altars. The altar in this temple of Beijing is the largest one among the three altars, hence an honorary title ???The First Jie Tan in China.
Located at the Western District inside Beijing City is a Buddhist temple called White Dagoba Temple. It got its name from a white old dagoba inside the temple. In the same year after the dagoba was built, a magnificent temple was constructed with the dagoba as its centerpiece. In 1368 during the Yuan Dynasty, the Temple was destroyed by thunder and fire, only the dagoba remained intact. Most of the buildings you can now see inside the Temple were constructed in the Qing Dynasty (1644 – 1911). The Temple was reconstructed in 1457 during the Ming Dynasty and was repaired in the following dynasties. The Temple originally had the name “Temple of Great Holy Longevity and Eternal Peace”. It was named “Miaoyingsi” after it was rebuilt in the Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644). The common people call the Temple by its more popular name, the White Dagoba Temple.
The Five-Pagoda Temple is situated about 200 meters to the northwest of Beijing Zoo. Its original name, the Temple of True Awakening (Zhenjuesi), was later changed to the Temple of Great Righteous Awakening (Dazhengjuesi). Today, however, it is popularly referred to as the Five-Pagoda Temple.
Southwest of outer Beijing City is the Xuanwu District, where you will find Niujie Street, formerly called Liuhe Village. In the past this street was ornated with vegetable and fruit gardens. Today, its main attraction is the Niujie Mosque. Built in 996 during the Liao Dynasty, it is the biggest and oldest mosque in Beijing. In 1442 during the Ming Dynasty, and in 1696 during the Qing Dynasty, the Mosque was repaired several times.
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Situated in the Western Hills, this Buddhist temple lies 45km (28 miles) west of Beijing. The temple’s name means dragon pool and mulberry tree temple, due to its proximity to the Dragon Pool and the trees growing in the surrounding hills. The temple dates back 1,600 years, although its name has changed on numerous occasions. Covering an area 41,600 sq meters, this temple is one of the largest in the area.
South of the Fragrant Hills is Badachu, there are eight Temples and Shrines scattered on the Western Hills. The first site, built in the Ming Dynasty (1504), was Chang’an Temple, inside which is an Exhibition Museum. The second site is the best preserved one from the Tang Dynasty, it has a 13-storied Buddha’s Tooth Relic Pagoda (Temple of Lingguang). Inside the Courtyard is an Apricot Tree dating from the Yuan Dynasty.
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