Tanzhe Temple, older than Beijing City

People visit Tanzhe Temple to enjoy Yulan Magnolia in Beijing, capital of China, April 9, 2011.(Xinhua file photo)

Tanzhe Temple is located in Tanzhe Mountain, Mentougou District, Beijing, about 40 kilometers from the city center. Established during the Jin Dynasty (256-316), Tanzhe Temple is the oldest Buddhist temple of Beijing. The named came from a dragon pool (called Tan in Chinese) behind the temple and several cudriana trees (called Zhe in Chinese) on the mountain. Tanzhe Temple covers an area of 25,000 sq meters. The layout of Tanzhe Temple is arranged in an orderly fashion. Halls are mainly located along the central axis. Courtyards are situated in the east of the temple and various altars sit in the west of the temple.

Tanzhe Temple's Mahavira Hall houses the statues of Mahavira and his students. This double-tiered roof hall is covered with yellow glazed tiles and has glazed green adornments on both sides of the roof. The adornments are 2.9 meters high and engraved with dragons and clouds; they are said to be relics from the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368).

Along the central axis and in front of the Maitreya Hall sits an old and big bronze pot which is about 1.85 meters in height and 1.1 meters in width. It was used to cook by the Tanzhe Temple monks. There used to be three pots in total, and this remaining one is the smallest.

The double-floored Vairochana Pavilion, located at the end of the central axis is the highest building in Tanzhe temple. A picture of eight dragons scrambling for a pearl is engraved on the front of the ridge, while there are six phoenixes flying around peony flowers carved on the back.

Avalokitesvara Hall is located at the end of the west side of Tanzhe Temple. Avalokitesvara is worshiped in the hall. According to the legend, Princess Miaoyan of the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) came here every morning and night to pray, and at last she became a nun.

To the west of Avalokitesvara Hall is Dragon King Hall, in front of which a deep green stone fish is hung. This fish is 1.46 meters in length and 150 kilograms in weight. The fish was cut from a huge stony meteorite that contains bronze, so that if you rap on it you will hear a metallic sound.

Tenzhe Temple is not only valuable for a great number of historic relics and ancient trees preserved, but also for beautiful natural scenery, making it an attractive tourism destination in Beijing. A lot of locals go to Tanzhe Temple for one day leisure, or pray for the family.

Ticket of Tanzhe Temple costs 55 Yuan, and the open hours are from 8:00 to 17:00 (summer); 8:00--16:30 (winter).You can take a tourist bus from Beijing Tourism Hub in the west of Tiananmen Square to go there, buses departure on weekends and holidays from April to October.