The Moon Watching Tower(simplified Chinese:望月楼; traditional Chinese: 望月楼; pinyin: Wàngyùe Lóu; literally “the Tower used to watch the moon”) is actually two separated towers connected by a corridor. It’s the wing of the Sanqing Tower. Inside the East side to the tower, there stores the Taoist scriptures since the Ming Dynasty(AD1368-1644), including the Orthodox Taoist […]
The Moon Watching Tower(simplified Chinese:望月楼; traditional Chinese: 望月楼; pinyin: Wàngyùe Lóu; literally “the Tower used to watch the moon”) is actually two separated towers connected by a corridor. It’s the wing of the Sanqing Tower. Inside the East side to the tower, there stores the Taoist scriptures since the Ming Dynasty(AD1368-1644), including the Orthodox Taoist Scripture written in the 10th year of Zheng-Tong(AD 1445), and the Wan-Li Taoist scripture written in the 35th year of Wan-Li（AD 1608）.
The collection of Taoist Scriptures here is the most complete version throughout the world. Because there are so many scriptures in the Moon Watching Tower, from the first day to the seventh day of the sixth lunar month every year, the White Cloud Taoist Temple would held a grand ceremony to collect all its collections. People move the scriptures out, turning over and over again in sunlight in order to kill the bookworms. Unfortunately, you cannot visit these precious scriptures now in the White Cloud Taoist Temple. They have been handed over to Beijing Library for better protection. But there is still copy version of all the scriptures in the Moon Watching Tower, so don’t be disappointed!
Luogong Tower(simplified Chinese:罗公塔; traditional Chinese: 羅公塔; pinyin: Luó Gōng Tǎ; literally “the Temple of the origin of all things”) is located in the northeast tower yard. It is a turreted structure. Before the tower there used to be the Luogong Front Hall where the statue of Luogong was enshrined. But now only the Luogong Tower […]
Luogong Tower(simplified Chinese:罗公塔; traditional Chinese: 羅公塔; pinyin: Luó Gōng Tǎ; literally “the Temple of the origin of all things”) is located in the northeast tower yard. It is a turreted structure. Before the tower there used to be the Luogong Front Hall where the statue of Luogong was enshrined. But now only the Luogong Tower has survived. Luogong lived in the time of Kangxi of the Qing dynasty. He was honored by the emperor as “the Man of Tranquility”. Local legend has it that Luogong invented the barber’s tools and the art of massage which were greatly appreciated by the emperor after being introduced into the royal palace. So Luogong was worshipped as ancestor by hairdressers of the old times.
The White Cloud Taoist Temple
Laolv Hall(simplified Chinese:老律堂; pinyin: LǎO LǜTáng; literally “the Hall of Preaching”) was originally called Qi Zhen Hall where the seven disciples of Wang Chongyang, the founder of the Quanzhen School of Taoism, were enshrined. The senior Taoist priest Wang Changyue was appointed by the emperor to preach in this Hall; his students came from all […]
Laolv Hall(simplified Chinese:老律堂; pinyin: LǎO LǜTáng; literally “the Hall of Preaching”) was originally called Qi Zhen Hall where the seven disciples of Wang Chongyang, the founder of the Quanzhen School of Taoism, were enshrined. The senior Taoist priest Wang Changyue was appointed by the emperor to preach in this Hall; his students came from all over the country, so Taoism was prevalent for a while. To commemorate this event, Qi Zhen Hall was changed into Laolv Hall, meaning the Hall of Preaching. Its floor space is very large, and the Taoist priests living in the White Cloud Taoist Temple hold religious activities there. Every morning and evening the priests come to the hall to recite scriptures; and at the time of the Taoist festivals and on the birthday of the Taoist ancestor, the Taoist rites are held there.
The White Cloud Taoist Temple
The White Cloud Taoist Temple (simplified Chinese:白云观; traditional Chinese: 白雲觀; pinying: Bái Yún Guàn; literally “the Temple of the White Cloud”) is located outside Xibianmen City Gate. It was built in the Tang Dynasty and it was then called Tianchang Taoist Temple. According to record, Tangxuanzong, an emperor of the Tang Dynasty ordered the construction […]
The White Cloud Taoist Temple (simplified Chinese:白云观; traditional Chinese: 白雲觀; pinying: Bái Yún Guàn; literally “the Temple of the White Cloud”) is located outside Xibianmen City Gate. It was built in the Tang Dynasty and it was then called Tianchang Taoist Temple.
According to record, Tangxuanzong, an emperor of the Tang Dynasty ordered the construction of this temple for worshipping Lao Zi, the founder of Taoism. There is still a white jade sitting statue of La Zi in the temple, it is said to be from the Tang Dynasty. In the year 1160, the temple was burned down. Severn years later, the emperor ordered a reconstruction which was completed in March 1174. A second fire incident occurred in 1202 and the only thing that had survived was the stone statue of Lao Zi. The reconstruction began the next year, and its name was changed into “the Tai Chi Palace”. In 1215 during the Jin Dynasty, as the country was weak and the capital was moved
elsewhere, the palace gradually fell into decay.
At the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty, Genghis Khan granted Qiu Chuji to live in the Tai Chi Palace. Qiu ordered the temple to be renewed. It was three years before the temple took on a new look. In the last years of the Yuan Dynasty, persistent war caused the deterioration of the temple. After two major repairs in the Ming and Qing dynasty, the temple became what it is today.
The White Cloud Taoist Temple Attractions:
The Yuanchen Temple
The Moon Watching Tower
The Jade Emperor Hall
Mythical Stories of the White Cloud Taoist Temple:
The Story of Medicine King
The Hall of Medicine King was built in honor of a great doctor and also a great Taoist in Chinese history—Sun Simiao.
Although he made marvelous achievements in his lifetime, his life actually began with miserable experiences. Sun was not a lucky kid, he was born with a very weak constitution. His family tried everything they could, and spent all their money to cure his diseases. After he beat all those difficult miscellaneous diseases, he made up his mind to be a doctor.
Through years of learning and training, he grew up to be really outstanding in his field. Thanks to his efforts, innumerable lives were saved and various fatal illness became curable. Folk legend said that he once went to a village, and saw a family crying over a coffin desperately. They told him that the mistress of the family had died while giving birth to her first baby. Sun asked the husband to open to coffin, and use a silver needle to prick her temple. Half an hour later, the mistress came to life. Considering his contribution to traditional Chinese medicine science, Sun does live up to the name “Medicine King”.
The attractions most worthy of visiting in Badachu Eight Great Sites Park are The Lingguang Temple(the Temple of the Holy Spirit), Dabei Temple (the Temple of Great Mercy), and Xiangjie Temple (the Fragrant Temple). In the Lingguang Temple, you can see the grand Foya Dagoba, the ancient Tagee, the staatues of thousands of Buddhas of […]
The attractions most worthy of visiting in Badachu Eight Great Sites Park are The Lingguang Temple(the Temple of the Holy Spirit), Dabei Temple (the Temple of Great Mercy), and Xiangjie Temple (the Fragrant Temple). In the Lingguang Temple, you can see the grand Foya Dagoba, the ancient Tagee, the staatues of thousands of Buddhas of the Liao Dynasty, the beautiful goldfish pool, the splendid Luohan Wall and Xinjing Wall. In the Dabei Temple, the Mahavira Hall presents the Eighteen Disciples of Sakyamuni. Those vivid and lifelike statues were made by Liu Yuan, a famous sculptor of the Yuan Dynasty. And in the neatly-structured Xiangjie Temple, sacrificial utensils are all maintained in tact. The most attractive spot might be the stone tablet below the Mahavira Hall, on which is engraved the chirography of the three emperors of the Qing Dynasty: Kangxi, Qianlong, and Jiaqing.
The Best Time to Visit the Badachu Eight Great Sites Park
The spring and autumn in Beijing are the best travel seasons, as it is not too hot and not too cold, especially autumn when Beijing is called “golden Beijing” because of its clear and cool weather. April, May, September and October are the best months for tourism. Beijing is on the north edge of the North China Plain facing the ocean and butted against the mountains. As Beijing has the
typical warm and semi-humid continental monsoon climate, each season has its distinctive features. The coldest month is January during which the average temperature is around -5℃, while in the hottest month, July, around 26℃. Compared to winter, the spring and autumn here are relatively short. Though the winter in Beijing last for a long time, the perfect indoor heating facilities make you feel as if you are in spring. But, considering the large temperature difference between indoor and outdoor, you should better bring your sweater and coat if you want to visit Beijing in winter. Don’t forget that most attractions in Beijing are sites of historical and ethnic cultures, and weather wouldn’t become a big obstacle to your trip, so it’s OK to visit Beijing at any time of the year. In winter, many travel agencies and hotels will make provide big discounts, so you can save a lot of money.
Best Routes of Visiting the Badachu Eight Great Sites Park (no information right now)
Tickets of the Badachu Eight Great Sites Park
Tickets:
Regular ticket: RMB 10 per person
Discount ticket: RMB 5 per person
How to get a discount?
1. Free of charge for the retired, the enlisted men and children below 1.2 m.
2. Primary school, middle school, and university students (excluding postgraduates and those taking adults education) could buy discount ticket with credentials.
3. The elders and people who are on social security benefit could buy discount ticket with credentials.
4. Monthly tickets are sold from the 28th to the 5th of the next month.
Monthly ticket:
Monthly ticket for morning exercise only: RMB 15 per person (entrance before 7:30)
Monthly ticket for whole day: RMB 30 per person
Annual ticket:
Annual ticket for morning exercise only: RMB 100 per person (enterance before 7:30)
Annual ticket for whole day: RMB 150 per person
Notice: You should bring a 2-inch id picture to buy annual or monthly ticket. Annual and Monthly tickets are invalid when major activities are held in the park or on Spring Festival.
Ticket for ropeway: RMB 50 per person
Ticket for chute: RMB 50 per person
Ticket for both ropeway and chute: RMB 80 per person
Ticket for the No.1 inkstone of China: RMB 3 per person
How to get to the Badachu Eight Great Sites Park
By bus
Take the bus 347, 389,489,598,972,958, get off at the Badachu Park.
By subway
You can get off at every station between Bajiao Amusement Park Station and Pingguoyuan Station and take buses to reach the park.
By self-driving
Get off the Forth Ringroad or Fifth Ringroad from Badachu Exit, and drive along Badachu Street for about 2 kilometers. Or get off the west Fourth Ringroad from Sijiqing Exit, drive along Xingshikou Street to Badachu Street. Less than 100 meters from the park are 3 parking lots with a total of 1,200 carpots.
The Three Mountain Temple (simplified Chinese: 三山庵; pinyin: Sān Shā Àn; literally “The Temple of Three Mountains”) is the third temple of the Eight Great Sites Park. It was built in the Tian-De 3rd year of Liao Dynasty(AD 1151), and has a history of over 900 years. The gate to the temple faces the northeast. […]
The Three Mountain Temple (simplified Chinese: 三山庵; pinyin: Sān Shā Àn; literally “The Temple of Three Mountains”) is the third temple of the Eight Great Sites Park. It was built in the Tian-De 3rd year of Liao Dynasty(AD 1151), and has a history of over 900 years. The gate to the temple faces the northeast. The temple is a quadrangle yard of elaborate layout and exquisite architecture. The temple gate is composed of three parts, with two corner gates on each side of the main gate. The main hall includes five principal rooms with two side rooms. The two side halls face each other and stand at each side of the main hall. Above the gate hangs a plaque inscribed “San shan an”(the Three Mountain Temple) with a couplet beside it. In the main hall there is another plaque inscribed “Shi da shi jie” (the grand world) with a couplet beside it. All the couplets in this hall are composed by contemporary people.
There is an open room connected to the back door of the eastern side hall. One plaque hangs on the inside and another on the outside, the former saying “Jian yang ban fu jing she” and the latter “Cui wei ru hua”. The original plaques were both inscribed by Yong Rong, the sixth son of Qianlong Emperor of the Qing Dynasty. The couplet on the columns of the room says “The lake is far, the mountains are near, and the mist is thin; the breeze is light, the moon is bright, and the Buddhist mind is pure.” Here the land is open and offers a broad view of the scenery around. As you look out, you can see clear fountains, mountain towers, Kunming Lake and the Forbidden City as well as the different sceneries of the four seasons.
As you stand inside the Three Mountain Temple, you will be immersed in a sense of openness and purity and full of emotions. Since the ancient times, poets and painters have been overwhelmed by the picturesque scenery of this place and have made it the theme of numerous poems and paintings, including the paintings of River-Viewing, Fountain-Viewing, and Moon-Viewing of the Ming Dynasty and the paintings of Lingguang zhijing, Revisiting Xiangjie, and Qianlong’s Visit of the Qing Dynasty.
Not only the poets and painters but also those senior Buddhist masters feel strongly about the Three Mountain Temple. The most famous one of them is Master Datiantongli whom Qianlong Emperor deeply respected, awarded the purple kasaya and the honoured title of “the Master of the preaching of Buddhist doctrines”. He once lived here as a hermit to annotated The Lotus Sutra and Lengyan Zhizhang Shu. In the summer of the 19th year of Jiaqing Emperor of Qing Dynasty, Master Haifengyuanliang, abbot of the Great Bell Temple, also lived here for rehabilitation and promoted the renovation of the Zhengguo Buddhist Forest of the Eight Great Sites Park together with the famous Buddhist Master Chongligaojian.
The Three Mountain Temple is small in size but rich in cultural content. It does live up to the name of “a grand world”.
The Longquan Temple (simplified Chinese:龙泉庵; traditional Chinese:龍泉庵; pinyin: Lóng Quán Àn; literally “The Temple of Dragon Spring”. In Chinese culture, dragon means sacred and imperial.) is the fifth temple of the Eight Great Sites Park. The temple is made up of two separated gardens built in different period. Just as its name implies, the most […]
The Longquan Temple (simplified Chinese:龙泉庵; traditional Chinese:龍泉庵; pinyin: Lóng Quán Àn; literally “The Temple of Dragon Spring”. In Chinese culture, dragon means sacred and imperial.) is the fifth temple of the Eight Great Sites Park. The temple is made up of two separated gardens built in different period. Just as its name implies, the most attractive spots in this temple is a spring called Longquan. It would appear in your eyes once you enter the temple. The trickle of running water lasts for years, and is still flowing. The water from the Longquan Spring is clear, and tastes sweet with a special aroma. A hermit before, who was called “Man who tills the moon” , wrote a peom to praise the wonderful water, eulogizing how delicious it was, which made the spring an overnight sensation. Sitting in the tree shade on hill near the spring, enjoying pines and cypresses that have lived for hundreds of years, and listenning to the sound of the jingle spring, you may realize what paradise is like.
Beside the Longquan Spring, there are some other spots worth visiting inside the Longquan Temple, for example, the Buddha statue on the mahavira hall, they are work of masters from recent period, and the couplet there, describing the natural beauty of the garden vividly. The Longquan Temple could be regarded as the most halcyon place within the park, filled with artistic ambience.
Cow street mosque is Beijing’s oldest and largest mosques dating all the way back to the 10th century. It is located just outside of central Beijing in the Hui distrct the nearest subway stop is Niu Jie which is situated only 5 minuets from the mosque. If you would like to take an organised tour […]
Cow street mosque is Beijing’s oldest and largest mosques dating all the way back to the 10th century. It is located just outside of central Beijing in the Hui distrct the nearest subway stop is Niu Jie which is situated only 5 minuets from the mosque. If you would like to take an organised tour of this area I would sugest logging onto China Tours where they have some great Beijing Tours idea’s.
Cow street Mosque
The majority of people who worship here are a small minority group called the Hui, there a population of only about 200,000 people who originate from Ningxia province and are predominately Muslims. As soon as you step into the mosque it is evidently muslim, with many islamic motifs and arabic verses decorating the halls. The most unquie sight I saw was the amaing 300 year old Koran that sits up om the alter in all it’s glory each page has been beautifully hand written.
Ornate Decor
This is one of the most relaxing places to sit and reflex, its’s a nice getaway I could have stayed for hours in the lush green courtyard chilling amongst the ornate objects and beautiful scripts on the walls! If you want to visit I would suggest dressing conservatively out of respect for the religion anyone is welcome however non Muslims are not allowed to enter the prayer hall. If this account has inspired you to want to travel Beijing but don’t know where to start for some great low cost travel idea’s go to China Tours. Or if you need advice on hotels go to China Hotels.
This Year I decided that I wanted to travel China but didn’t want it to cost the earth, so I trawled the internet looking for the cheapest flights. This took a lot of time and effort until I found this incredible website, which makes traveling around China so easy! Whether yo are traveling alone or […]
This Year I decided that I wanted to travel China but didn’t want it to cost the earth, so I trawled the internet looking for the cheapest flights. This took a lot of time and effort until I found this incredible website, which makes traveling around China so easy! Whether yo are traveling alone or on a big group China Tours will help you to find the best flights and the cheapest accommodation, if your looking for a great deal I would recommend logging on to china travel.
I started my journey by flying out to Beijing, I then took the most amazing 4 day tour with CYTS they took me on a guided tour of all the best places and they taught me the history and gave me great local knowledge of Beijing. When we landed a taxi transfer was waiting to take us straight to our hotel called the Swiss which is one of the best hotels i’ve ever been to. After a quick shower we went for a delicious Chinese banquets in one of the many restaurant they have inside the hotel we then turned in for the night as we new the next day was going to be packed full of sight seeing.
The day day was amazing we got up around 11.00 and had a international breakfast there was food from every part of the world I had sausages bacon and egg they even had real English baked beans and tea! After lunch we headed to the spa and had the works: Massage,pedicure,manicure,facial it was so relaxing just what I needed!
Tianaman Square
Just when I thought things couldn’t get any better day 2 came around and we were taken to the Forbidden city and Tianaman Square they were both phenomenal and much bigger than I imagined them to be! Both of the destinations were full of history and ancient chinese culture I spent a good 6 hrs looking round both of them. It was really helpful to have a Chinese tour guide to show us round and tell us information, about what all the buildings and status were they are also very big so easy to get lost in! It was a great day but I was glad to get back to the hotel and have a rest!
Silk street
The next day our tour guide took us to the silk market, they have everything you could possible want there: ladies and men’s clothing,electrical goods, shoes, chinese artwork and food! A tip for the market is to not take the first price you must barter, if they say 100 they almost certainly will go down over half the price. All of the stuff in the market is really good quality and the people at the market are very friendly although sometimes things can get a bit fraught during the price war, but just stick with it or if in doubt walk away they will most probably chase after you and give you the price you want.We spent about 5hrs there I could have stayed much longer.
The market
I was really sad to leave Beijing but excited to see the rest of china, I had a flight to Xian early the next day hopefully one day I will come back so I can explore Beijing some more! Look out for my next blog about the mesmerizing Xian.
If this account has inspired you to want to travel Beijing but don’t know where to start for some great low cost travel idea’s go to China Tours. Or if you need advice on hotels go to China Hotels
The Yonghe Temple or the Lama Temple as it’s better known is one of the most famous monasteries In the whole of Beijing it is located in the north-easten part of Beijing and is one of the largest and most important Tibetan monasteries that is deep in history and shrouded in mystery. The Temple is very […]
The Yonghe Temple or the Lama Temple as it’s better known is one of the most famous monasteries In the whole of Beijing it is located in the north-easten
part of Beijing and is one of the largest and most important Tibetan monasteries that is deep in history and shrouded in mystery. The Temple is very easy to find only about a ten minuet walk from Yonghe Gong metro stop. But if you don’t fancy roughing it on the metro there are many coach tours that cover this place I.e Beijing Tours. The walk up from the metro station is very pretty and there are many little tea shops and restaurants I can personally recommend the Lama Temple Restaurant which serves traditional Chinese cuisine at a very cheap price .
The entry fee inside the temple is very reasonable costing 20 Rmb this also includes a special DVD which takes you on a virtual tour of the Lama temple however this fee will be included if you take an organised tour with china travel .
Once inside the lama temple I suddenly got the feeling of how sacred this place really is, everyone was lighting Incense sticks and undertaking the ritual of bowing to the north and the east. Unlike many of the other tourist places I have been to this one was very tranquil and calming. The lama Temple is a maze of five progressively larger hall with five beautiful courtyards in between there is also a small museum and many other
halls either side of the main halls.
The buildings are all very opulent with intricate artwork and lavish decor, everywhere I looked there were complex carvings or Budders and treasure it wasquite breath taking. The roof of all the hall were covered with ornate yellow-tiles that reflected the the sunlight creating a wonderful effect.
I ventured into the first of the halls, named the hall of the Heavenly Kings inside stood 3 Budders carved out of wood they were and delicatle painted with great detail. the budders were overloaded with silk sashes and quite bizarre food and beer! Around the Base of the Budders many chinese visitors were stood praying and worshiping the status. I walked through another courtyard leading to the second of the Halls through another courtyard which was very smiler to the previous, inside the Hall of Harmony and Peace stood three more budders almost identical to the previous apart from instead of beer the offering was fresh fruit. I quickly past through the next courtyard into the third hall The Hall of Everlasting Protection where three more slightly bigger budders stood around the side of the hall were 6 other smaller status which were holding gifts. I wondered into the next hall by passing many people lighting incense and saying prayers as I enterd theHall of the Wheel of the Law which was very big I thought this was the main Buddha due to its size and the amount of excitement that was going on at the base of the statue.
I finally reached the final hall the biggest of the five where I knew the Maitrya buddha resides, before I even steped inside I could see the Buddha’s tree trunk size legs as I got inside I looked up in awe I have never seen
anything quite like it. The Buddha was colossal, breath taking I couldnt comprehend that this statue was built from a single piece of Tibetan white sandalwood. The colours were so vivid and grand the whole statue was gleaming with rich jewels ,it was draped in lush silk scarves. I had to really crane my neck to see the top of the Buddha it is much bigger and wider than I ever expected!
The lama temple has been one of my favourite places so far it’s undoubtedly the most interesting religious site in Beijing, a definite must for anyone who visits china. The temple is not that big It can be done in about 1hr however I would recommend meandering slowly and really taking the whole atmosphere in. Another way to see this if you only have limited time and want to know the history of the place is to take a tour look up China Tours for some great Ideas for excursions.
