Yúnjū Sì 云居寺
房山区: 京石高速 琉璃河口下往西走
Part of A Better Guide to Běijīng’s coverage of Běijīng Suburbs and Beyond
This temple is extremely ancient, having originally been built in 631CE, although Japanese forces are blamed for its destruction in the 20th century. For the most part they respected China’s ancient buildings rather better than they did the Chinese people, and rather more than the Chinese have since. Until recently the site was a highly picturesque ruin, with merely ten brick and stone stupas dating as far back as the Liáo dynasty (907–1125). But after massive reconstruction there’s now a brand new temple pretending to be the old one.
From the entrance a path to your left through a bamboo grove leads you on a recommended route around the site, beginning with the main reason to come here: the thousands of stone sutras of the Suí, Táng, Liáo, and Jīn dynasties, known as the Stone Canon of Fáng Shān (房山石经, Fáng Shān Shíjīng). As with the Confucian classics (see Confucius Temple), Buddhist scriptures were carved onto stone slabs to produce a definitive version, from which authoritative copies could be made.
The sutras were discovered in 1957, carved into more than 10,000 slabs walled up in caves in the neighbouring mountains. Some of the texts had been lost for centuries and forgotten. Several hundred sutras were the translations by the expeditionary scholar-monk Xuánzàng (玄奘), who left the Táng capital of Cháng’ān (modern day Xī’ān) in 629 CE on a mission to India to collect scriptures. His travels were mythologised in the classic of Chinese literature Journey to the West or Monkey, the source of plots for everything from Chinese opera to television cartoon series.
The sound of soft hammering reveals that authoritative copies of his work are still being made by the process of wetting the stone, laying on a sheet of fine paper which then adheres to it, and using a cloth-wrapped wooden disc to tamp on colour, with a result that resembles a brass rubbing.
Various of the brand new halls contain minor exhibitions, often with a further entrance fee attached, although the rearmost does contain a single tall slender multi-armed figure of some antiquity that can be seen free. The stupas on the east side, one 30m high, are varied and striking, although a number have been glued back together with concrete.
▶ 78km SW in Fáng Shān District, gps 39º36’26”N, 115º46’09”E, t 6138 9612, www.yunjusi.com, 8.30am–4.15pm; varies on public holidays. ¥40. b to 坟庄: 917定班(slower), 917张坊, 917十渡 from Tiān Qiáo bus station. Change to 房山12, 房山19, or 房山19蒲洼 for last 12km to 云居寺. train to 云居寺: 6095 at 6.20am from Běijīng West arr. 8.28am. Walk south 1.1km to 三岔村 and take b 房山31 to 云居寺. Or turn right at the T and walk, looking for signs on the right to the temple after nearly 3km. 4.1km altogether. Return train is at 10.17am so take bus.
If coming by taxi it is also possible to travel via the Peking Man Site at Zhōukǒudiàn. b 房山19 will take you on to the ‘scenic area’ of Shí Dù (十渡, ‘Ten Crossings’), where the road follows a winding river through gorges, crossing it ten times, the bus stopping at several crossings en route to the tenth. Unfortunately this is now despoiled with a fun fair, bungee jumps, and other amusements.
Next in Běijīng Suburbs and Beyond: Hóngluó Sì
Previously: Dà Jué Sì
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For discussion of China travel, see The Oriental-List.
