The Fangshan District of Beijing is rich with history! In addition to the Peking Man Site, my recent trip to the southwestern district of Beijing included a visit to the Yunju Temple. A temple has been on this site for more than 1,000 years. However, most of the structures you’ll find there today were rebuilt in the latter half of the 20th century. They were destroyed when the Japanese invaded Beijing.
This doesn’t mean there aren’t still historic buildings and relics worth visiting. These include pagodas from as early as the Liao dynasty, an alleged bone from Buddha, and a staggering collection of steles with Buddhist sutras carved into them. And, when I say staggering I mean more than 14,000 stone tablets with inscriptions on both sides.
These steles were protected from the destruction of the rest of the temple because they were hidden in caves higher up on the hill. Along with the steles were thousands of scrolls and other religious materials, many of which predate the temple itself. There is a viewing space for the collection of steles, which allows you to get an idea of just how many there are.
The rest of the temple structures are standard Ming-style buildings that climb the hill in a standard Chinese temple fashion of a series of courtyards. Each of the main temple halls is dedicated to a Buddhist figure with a statue and frescoes for that theme. However, these frescoes and most of the statues aren’t historic.
The longer I am in Beijing, the more I learn about its fascinating history. I meet so many people visiting Beijing who only spend a few days here. They miss so much of what this city has to offer. I guess that’s a benefit to living here, more adventures for me. Remember, adventure is out there, so go have one!
