Císhàn Sì 慈善寺
石景山区, 潭峪路
Working but deserted rural temple overlooked by giant Buddha head
Part of A Better Guide to Běijīng’s coverage of Běijīng Suburbs and Beyond
Away from the clamour of Běijīng and significantly different in layout and content from most other temples, this functioning Míng-founded mountainside location is well worth the effort to visit. It’s a fairly easy half-day trip using public transport, with the option of a countryside walk of under an hour.
A collection of statuary-filled small halls beyond the gate, which may be climbed, includes one with a ‘sleeping Buddha’, and all have brief English explanations. To the right a path leads up the mountain to the main body of the complex, and a right fork up a narrower route, signposted 佛头 (fó tóu, Buddha head) delivers you to what you may regard as the main attraction: a giant, serene stone face with heavy-lidded eyes looking out from the mountainside across the valley — a fó tóu opportunity.
The main halls of the extensive complex have been decently repaired (2002–7) and are filled with statues wrapped in golden cloth, suggesting considerable local piety. Amongst them is a bodhisattva with a vast halo of extra arms behind her, and a 1.9m-high seated statue of the Prince of Devils.
The biggest surprise is perhaps the display in memory of warlord Féng Yùxiáng (冯玉祥), the ‘Christian General’, responsible for ejecting the Last Emperor from the Forbidden City in 1924, and who is said to have baptised his troops with a firehose. Exhibits include a statue of his podgy figure, assorted portraits and photographs, and what they claim is his uniform, which is in blue with gold trim and as Ruritanian as you might expect.
A tea house on the site is said to have been a meeting place for officials in Republican times, and where warlords Féng, the ‘Young Marshal’ Zhāng Xuéliáng (张学良), and Sun Yat-sen’s son Sūn Kē (孙科), all of whose biographies are very colourful, met to discuss politics.
▶ Just beyond the W Fifth Ring Road in Shíjǐng Shān. Turn N off G109 at Wǔlǐtuó into Tányù Lù and follow signs, t 8890 5988, 24hrs. ¥8. gps 39°5840”N, 116°9’18”E. m Píngguǒ Yuán (Line 1), exit A/D then b 597 to 黑石头村, 13 stops or b to 五里坨: 运通112线, 运通116线, 336, 396, 941, 959, 972, 977, and take waiting cars for ¥25, or motorbikes for ¥10.
Walking: From the b 597 stop, about 25 mins from m Pínguǒ Yuán, return to the junction just passed, where a new broad road peters out to the right. Take the slightly sharper right up the old road, which shortly swings slightly to the left, and continue north up hill. After less then ten minutes’ walk, turn right where your path joins a similar one going that way. If you reach a T-junction with a modern broad road first either turn back (shorter) or turn right and take the next, signposted, road to the right, which doubles back before swinging north again. New housing developments may alter the route.
If turning back, walk to where the path swings left but you came originally from straight on, and follow it left. This cuts out a long stretch of walking and joins the main road near the bend where it swings north. Continue in the same direction, passing goats, birdsong, and surveyors (the presence of the latter of course means all three may be gone by the time you arrive).
Shortly afterwards there’s the car park, where the road rather obviously forks left and eventually leads to the temple, with cave dwellings visible in the valley below to the left on the final stretch. It’s about 50 mins’ walk altogether.
The ticket office will call a car or motorbike back downhill, if needed. The tea house on the site is intermittently open, but pay attention to prices. Back at m Píngguǒ Yuán there’s everything from KFC to Chinese home cooking at real prices, such as stalls whose most expensive bāozi are ¥4.5. There are also shops with assorted snacks if you want to take a picnic to the temple. Alight at 首钢小区 or neighbouring stops on the way back to visit the Tián Yì Mù or Fǎ Hǎi Sì.
Next in Běijīng Suburbs and Beyond: Běijīng Botanical Gardens
Previously: Fǎ Hǎi Sì
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For discussion of China travel, see The Oriental-List.
