China Beijing Tanze Temple

Tanze Temple was built more than 1,700 years ago and has a very long history.It was once quite large, and legend has it that the Forbidden City was built here. There is a saying in Beijing: “First there was Tianzhu Temple, then Beijing City.”The temple is highly regarded and attracts many worshippers.It is also surrounded by mountains, with towering ancient trees and ancient and exquisite buildings, and the scenery is very beautiful.

Tanze Temple is not very large at present. The temple area is about 300 meters long and wide, with the main buildings of the temple and many towering ancient trees scattered about. It takes about 2 hours to visit on foot.In addition, there is the Longtan pond at the back of the temple and the upper and lower pagodas in front of the temple.A quick visit to the entire area takes about three hours, but if you want to take your time and explore or take photos, it will probably take longer.

Enjoy the ancient scenery of the pagodas

The main entrance to Tanzhe Temple is located on the south side. About 300 meters outside the temple on the south side are the upper and lower pagodas. These two pagodas are often overlooked by tourists who enter the temple directly, but the scenery at the pagodas is also very good, so you may as well visit them before entering the temple.The pagoda forest is composed of the ash towers where the relics of the masters who have passed away in the temple are stored. Tianzhu Temple’s pagoda forest is mainly grey and white, and it is located among secluded woods. It is very quiet here for a stroll and visit, and it feels ancient and peaceful. You can also take very good photos here.

Visit traditional temple architecture

After visiting the pagoda forest, you can enter the temple through the main gate. The central axis of the temple is lined with buildings such as the main gate, the Hall of Heavenly Kings, the Hall of the Great Hero, and the Hall of Vairocana. On the left and right sides are the Pear Garden and the Imperial Villa, which can all be visited on foot.The architectural style of the temple is unified, most of which are brightly colored and intricately laid out. Among them are the palaces where emperors of past dynasties used to live, which are therefore very exquisite.In addition to the buildings, there are also many towering ancient trees in the courtyard, which block out the sky and give a feeling of ancient tranquility. It is also a great place for taking photos.

Magnolia in spring, apricot in autumn

Behind the main hall is the Imperial Tree, a thousand-year-old ginkgo. It is very spectacular in scale. Legend has it that each branch of the tree grew when a Qing emperor ascended the throne, which is very interesting. You can pay special attention to it when you visit.

Further north of the Imperial Tree is a two-trunked Magnolia tree, also an ancient tree. What makes it special is that it is a two-color Magnolia tree from Beijing. Every spring when the flowers bloom, the tree is covered in beautiful flowers.

Touch the stone fish for blessings

The stone fish on the northwest side of the temple is also a famous attraction for tourists. According to legend, you can pray for blessings by touching this stone fish, and it is very effective. Now you need to pay 5 yuan for incense to touch the stone fish. If you are interested, you can go and experience it.

In addition to these attractions, the temple’s “meandering stream” carvings, large bronze cauldrons, Tiger Cave, Guanyin Cave, etc. are also very famous, and each has a very interesting history and legend to learn about.

There is a stone staircase on the northeast side of Tanzhe Temple that leads up the mountain to the Longtan behind the temple. The “tan” in Tanzhe Temple refers to the Longtan behind the mountain. It takes about 1 kilometer to walk up the mountain on stone steps to get to Longtan, and it takes about half an hour to get there.However, the Longtan is small and not very distinctive, so few tourists go there.

In addition to viewing the many ancient trees and temple buildings, the natural scenery around Tanzhe Temple is also very good.The entire temple is surrounded by several small hills, and the surrounding hills are densely forested.Every autumn, the mountains are covered with red leaves, not unlike Fragrant Hills and other places. It is a very good place to view red leaves in the Beijing area.