Villages, Rural Temples, and Scenery

Part of A Better Guide to Běijīng’s coverage of Běijīng Suburbs and Beyond

The hills west of Peking are the Switzerland of Northern China. They are not very high nor extraordinarily beautiful, but there are some very pretty gorges and valleys, richly wooded, and at any rate the air is fresh and pure. Every gorge has a perfect nest of temples, built by the pious emperors of the Ming dynasty and the earlier Tartars, for which good deeds the Corps diplomatique at Peking cannot be too grateful. Properly speaking, according to the rules of their order, the Buddhist monks are forbidden to receive any money for the hospitality which they offer to strangers, so when the Chinese go to stay at a temple they restore or beautify some part of it as a return; but we prefer paying a few dollars, and in spite of their statutes the arrangement seems to suit the monk as well as it does us.

Algernon B. Freeman-Mitford, The Attaché at Peking, London, 1900

There’s now no avoiding the payment of ‘a few dollars’ for even the briefest visit, but the Western Hills and beyond do make the perfect escape on hot summer days, and house some of Běijīng’s more interesting temples. On spring and autumn days when the humidity has dropped and the winds have blown away some of the pollution, these hills can sometimes be seen from the upper floors of the central five-star hotels.

Key starting points for buses are m Píngguǒ Yuán, the ‘Old’ Summer Palace, and the Summer Palace. If there’s time for only one trip, then the individuality of the Tánzhè Sì and Jiètái Sì, their closeness to each other, and the particularly lush locations of these two temples make them an obvious choice. However, there are several more obscure temples with quite individual characteristics that can also be reached on short trundles by public bus through the countryside, and where except at weekends you are unlikely to bump into many other visitors, even Chinese ones.

Tánzhè Sì 潭柘寺
The Flight of the Beekeepers
Jiètái Sì 戒台寺
Shall We Have Dinner on the Terrace?
Tián Yì Mù 田义墓
Fǎ Hǎi Sì 法海寺
Císhàn Sì 慈善寺
Běijīng Botanical Gardens 北京植物园
Fragrant Hills Park 香山公园
Bā Dà Chù 八大处
Dà Jué Sì 大觉寺
Yúnjū Sì 云居寺
Hóngluó Sì 红螺寺
Silver Mountain Pagoda Forest 银山塔林
Cuàn Dǐxià 爨底下
Jī Míng Shān Yì 鸡鸣山驿
Tōngzhōu Pagoda 三教庙燃灯佛舍利塔

Next in Běijīng Suburbs and Beyond: Tánzhè Sì
Previously: Other Art Zones
Main Index of A Better Guide to Beijing.

For discussion of China travel, see The Oriental-List.