[2025 Beijing Attraction] Travel Guide for Fahai Temple (Updated May)

❤Recommended reason: Fahai Temple is located in Moshikou, Shijingshan District, Beijing, and was built in the fourth year of the Ming Dynasty (1439). 🌟Highlights: Fahai Temple faces south, with four courtyards. The main buildings include the mountain gate, the Hall of Heavenly Kings, and the Mahavira Hall. 👍Most recommended: The Mahavira Hall of Fahai Temple preserves murals from the Ming Dynasty. There are three statues of Water Moon Guanyin, Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, and Manjushri Bodhisattva. The murals in the temple are rigorously laid out, meticulously depicted, and carefully colored. They are considered the pinnacle of existing murals since the Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties in China. They are the classics and treasures of ancient murals, listed as national first-class cultural relics, and are one of the most precious mural works in the world. 📝Tips: Ticket price: CNY 20, mural CNY 100. There is a special person to take you to the mural, which takes about 20 minutes. It is well worth a visit.

🔴To satisfy my desire to go out and cool off in early autumn and to pursue historical sites, I recently went on a citywalk with friends near the historic Modekou Street and had a fruitful experience. 🌞I have always been interested in the cultural and historical aspects of Beijing. I knew that this area has many historical anecdotes dating back to the Ming Dynasty. There are also many historical sites in this area, which cannot be fully explored in one day. This time, we not only visited historical sites, learned about history from a guide, and took beautiful photos, but it was perfect. 👀Route: Gudao Sucun → Shijingshan Stone Carving Art Museum → Fahai Temple → Fahai Temple Mural Art Museum → Longwang Temple on Modekou Street 🚗Transportation: Drive and navigate to Xianshan Fudi Teahouse, park at Shougang Park P4 parking lot, and walk up the mountain 🕙Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday, closed on Monday 🌟Gudao Sucun A folk museum where the history of Modekou is condensed into small micro-exhibitions distributed in courtyards. The environment is pleasant, you can drink coffee and take a break, and feel relaxed. 🌟Shijingshan District Stone Carving Museum Also known as Tian Yi's Tomb, it is large in scale. The cemetery has exquisite stone carving artworks, including various figures, animals, and floral patterns. The carving skills are superb, reflecting high artistic value. 🌟Fahai Temple On the southern slope of Cuiwei Mountain, there is an ancient temple with four courtyards. It has five unique features: a thousand-year-old white pine, an ancient bell, a mandala caisson, Ming Dynasty murals, and a bridge with four cypresses and one hole. The Ming Dynasty murals are particularly worth seeing; they are detailed, layered, and have a strong sense of storytelling, representing the pinnacle of mural art in Beijing. 🌟Fahai Temple Mural Art Museum This is an art museum where you can appreciate the 'digital' original appearance of Ming Dynasty murals through 4K high-definition screens: 14-meter murals and eight themes, with figures and scenes restored to their original size in a 1:1 ratio, dynamically displaying local details in high definition. There is also a 360-degree dome theater for an immersive mural creation experience, which is very impressive. Finally, I personally experienced making clay murals, which was a good exercise for my skills. 🌟Modekou Street Walk - Longwang Temple Modekou Street is very lively on weekends, with many old buildings preserved on both sides, giving it a charming atmosphere. The key is that there are many delicious foods; many shops are filled with enticing aromas. The Longwang Temple Square in the center of the street has been newly rebuilt, and it has an old well from the ancient western Beijing road, which is still used as a water pump station for nearby residents. 🌈This half-day citywalk in Shijingshan Modekou was truly fulfilling. The many historical sites deeply attracted me, a travel photography documentary blogger. I plan to study the history myself and come back to play, especially looking forward to the special activities during traditional festivals like the Spring Festival!

Fahai Temple Inside the Mahavira Hall, there are extremely rare authentic murals. It operates on a reservation system with a limit of 20 people per session. Fahai Temple itself is also very tranquil. Tianning Temple One of Beijing's ancient temples, with a brick pagoda and temple that date back to the Liao Dynasty, it sees far fewer visitors than the Yonghe Temple. It's very serene. Dongjiaomin Lane The old embassy district's "foreigner's alley," with former sites of banks, post offices, and a beautiful church. It has always been relatively quiet. Gift and Cultural Relics Management Center By reservation only and with controlled entry, it's free to visit. A very impressive and majestic museum, not far from Dongjiaomin Lane, it can be scheduled on the same day. You can also take the opportunity to stroll through Xixinglong Street Hutong. Imperial Ancestral Temple A royal temple from the Ming and Qing dynasties, located near the Miaoying White Pagoda Temple. The ancient architecture is also very beautiful. National Library (Ancient Books Library) The old building with green glazed tiles has a retro style. The exterior is free to visit. It's next to the south gate of Beihai Park. You can stroll from the White Pagoda Temple, passing the Imperial Ancestral Temple, Guangji Temple, and the Geological Museum - all the way to this place.

Moshikou, formerly known as "Moshikou", was named after its abundant bluestone whetstones. Moshikou was famous in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It is located on the Camel Bell Ancient Road and is a gathering place for merchants and travelers. Here, there are national-level cultural relics protection units such as Fahai Temple and Cheng'en Temple, as well as many municipal and district-level cultural relics protection units. Fahai Temple is located at the southern foot of Cuiwei Mountain in western Beijing. The Ming Dynasty murals housed there are the oldest and best-preserved murals in Beijing.

Traveling by car during the Spring Festival; as the most famous tourist attraction in Yangzhou, you can see the road signs directing to Slender West Lake once you get off the highway and enter the urban area of Yangzhou. This time, I chose to go through the South Gate, turning into Huaihai Road from Wenchang Middle Road to get there. During the Spring Festival, there are really a lot of people at Slender West Lake, but fortunately, the area of the scenic spot is quite large, and it is not yet very crowded. The off-season ticket is 120, and 97 if booked online. In Slender West Lake, you can see pavilions and rockeries everywhere, many of which are located on small islands in the middle of the lake, which is very artistic. Entering from the South Gate, you have to go through a long road to reach Xu Garden, and walking along the lakeside will take you to Wuting Bridge, which is one of the symbols of Slender West Lake. During the Spring Festival, Wuting Bridge is full of tourists. Under Wuting Bridge, you can see a white pagoda, which is also one of the highlights of Slender West Lake. At the top of the white pagoda is Fahai Temple. Crossing Wuting Bridge, you will reach the large garden of Slender West Lake. Unfortunately, in this early spring, you really can't see the scene of flowers competing in beauty. Through the garden is the North Garden of Slender West Lake. One of the highlights of the North Garden is the flowing water from the stone wall, and another is the Bonsai Museum. The flowing water from the stone wall is actually a waterfall area, where you can see such small waterfalls everywhere, and such scenes are indeed rare; in the past, if you wanted to find waterfalls, you had to go deep into the mountains and forests, but unexpectedly, there are so many here. The main body of the museum is underground, mainly displaying some utensils used for bonsai. Upstairs in the museum are some bonsai masterpieces, and the garden outside is also a bonsai display area. Although Slender West Lake is called a lake, the main attractions here are not on the lake; Changdi Spring Willow, Siqiao Misty Rain, Xu Garden, Little Golden Mountain, White Pagoda, Twenty-four Bridge, these are all lakeside highlights, don't miss them. I have to complain about the water of Slender West Lake, it's really not clean enough, but there are still some ducks and swans in the lake, so it seems that the water quality is not that bad. The best season to visit Slender West Lake should be in April and May, which is the season when hundreds of flowers bloom. It was a bit early to go in early spring. I have a good impression of Slender West Lake, partly perhaps because of the good reputation left by Emperor Qianlong's visit to the south of the Yangtze River, and partly because I feel that Slender West Lake is a culmination of Chinese gardens. Whether it's small bridges and flowing water, pavilions and towers, or bonsai and waterfalls, these garden landscapes are all included here, no wonder Emperor Qianlong chose this place when he visited the south of the Yangtze River. For dining near Slender West Lake, I recommend Hongqiao Fang near the South Gate, which is a large commercial district. In addition to local specialties of Yangzhou, including Yangzhou fried rice and Fuchun buns, Yechun Tea House; there are even Quanjude, and plenty of coffee shops, Starbucks, Cat Shit Coffee are all available. It is recommended to finish eating outside the scenic area and then go, as a general tour takes about 4 to 5 hours of time.

Fahai Temple in the western suburbs of Beijing. For 100 yuan, you can visit the authentic murals of the top-notch Ming Dynasty. 20 minutes of explanation, listening to the explanation is still a bit knowledgeable. However, the explanation focuses on craftsmanship, not art. It is recommended to compare with Renaissance art of the same period. Then drive north to Fragrant Hills Park, like the ancient trees here. Both places have encountered many retired elderly people traveling.

great way to enjoy Beijing