Beijing: Tanzhe Temple

Located at the foot of Tanzhe Mount, southeast of Mentougou District and about 40 kilometers away of Beijing Downtown, Tanzhe Temple was originally built in Yongjia Reign of Western Jin Dynasty(307 AD). It is said that it is the first temple after Buddhism had been introduced to Beijing, and it was named Jiafu Temple originally.

In Qing Dynasty, it got the name “Xiuyun Temple” given by Emperor Kangxi. But because there is a pool called “Longtan” behind the temple, with a tree named “Zhe(wild mulberry)” on the mountain, therefore it is always called “Tanzhe Temple”(Tan refers to pool while Zhe refers to mulberry tree) by local people. There is a folk-adage goes that: “Tangzhe Temple was born before Beijing City”, which indicates Tanzhe Temple was the most oldest ancient temple in Beijing.

Covering an area of 25,000 square meters, the existing buildings were mainly built in the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing Dynasties (1644-1911). The layout of it is arranged in an orderly fashion. Halls are mainly located along the central axis. Courtyards are situated in the east and various altars sit in the west.
In recent years, many modern tourism service facilities were built in the scenic spot, and one-stop service is provided there, covering transportation, accommodation, catering, sightseeing, entertainment and shopping. If you are planing a Beijing to Xian tour, then I strongly recommended Tanzhe Temple as the a must-see attraction in Beijing. If your schedule doesn’t allow the visit, don’t be worry, your Xian tour will provide you another great temple — the DaCi’en Temple.