[2025 Beijing Attraction] Travel Guide for Pudu Temple (Updated Mar)

With the recent warm weather in Beijing, magnolia trees are blooming all over the city. Here's a free and less-crowded temple to check out—Pudu Temple. ✨Bloom Forecast The peak bloom for magnolias this year is predicted to be between March 15 and 25. The best times to take photos are 7–9am or 4–6pm. The most stunning time for photos with the red walls is 4:30pm on a sunny afternoon! 👗Outfit Inspiration ▫️New Chinese Style: Xiangyun Sha/silk clothing + jade hairpin ▫️Light Colors: Apricot coat + pearl earrings ▫️Props: Oiled paper umbrella/round fan/thread-bound book 💰Admission: Free 🚇Directions Address: No. 35, Pudu Temple Front Alley, Nanchizi Street Subway: 10-minute walk from Tiananmen East Station (Exit B), Line 1 Hidden Entrance: A shorter walk from the alley west of the "Imperial City Art Museum" on Nanchizi Street 🌸Nearby Activities A 5-minute walk from the temple: ▫️Nanchizi Art Museum (Suzhou-style garden) ▫️MAPS Hutong Cafe (Forbidden City view from the terrace) ▫️Taimiao Temple Magnolias (longer stretch of red walls) "Spring breezes caress the railings, dew glistens, magnolias bloom silently, smiling in the east wind." This spring, make sure to visit Pudu Temple. Witness the timeless romance between white magnolias and the ancient city walls at this 600-year-old temple.

The magnolias in Beijing's "First Ring Road" have finally reached their best viewing period. A 🚶‍♀️walking flower-viewing route takes you to check in at three places where magnolias are in full bloom. Don't go back, enjoy the spring with fewer people and beautiful scenery🌸 👉Recommended route: 🚇Metro Tiananmen East - 🛕Pudu Temple (Magnolia) - Enter from the East Gate 🏞️Beijing Workers' Cultural Palace (Magnolia) West Gate - Enter from the East Gate 🏞️Zhongshan Park (plum blossoms, tulips 🌷, mountain peach blossoms 🌸, magnolia) Southwest Gate - 🚇Metro Tiananmen West 📸Filming date: March 20, 2025, morning ✅This route completely avoids the large number of tourists going to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. Although you will go through three security checks🛂, it is better because there are fewer people and the queue is faster. ✅The magnolias of Pudu Temple are planted on the east and west sides of the main hall. They are mainly white magnolias. Those near the main hall have entered the best flowering period. You can take pictures with the ancient buildings. There are few people and the pictures are good. ✅The magnolias in the Working People's Cultural Palace can be located in the "Prince Forest" 🌳. There are several magnolias on the east and west sides. The ones on the east side are a bit dilapidated, while the ones on the west side are just right. The flowers are dense and low, which is very convenient for taking portraits 👩 (the pine and cypress trees in the garden are currently emitting pollen. When the wind blows, the pollen will float like fog. It is recommended to wear a mask 😷) ✅There is a Taimiao in the Labor People's Cultural Palace. If you have enough time, you can buy a ticket to visit it. It has the largest existing golden nanmu palace in China🏯 ✅The magnolia in Zhongshan Park is the most worth photographing in front of the Lanting Pavilion. The white magnolia is set off by the blue pavilion, which gives a different feeling. The magnolia flowers here are very large, and they are white and transparent under the sunlight, which looks very beautiful. ✅In addition, the Tulip Cultural Festival is currently being held in Zhongshan Park. The first batch of cultivated tulips 💐 have already appeared in the flowerbed of the park. The plum blossoms in the plum garden are about 20% in bloom, so you can wait for about another week. The mountain peach blossoms 🌸 in front of the Concert Hall are blooming particularly well, so you can stop by 📸 to enjoy the flowers and take pictures ‼ ️This flower-viewing route is mainly for viewing and photographing magnolias. Currently, the magnolias in these three places are in their best blooming period and should last for about a week. 🎫About tickets 🔸Pudu Temple: Free 🔸Beijing Workers' Cultural Palace: 2 yuan, free with 💳trade union card; Imperial Ancestral Temple 💰 ticket 10 yuan 🔸Zhongshan Park: Tickets are 3 yuan, free with annual park pass 🎟️; Tanghuawu Huifang Garden inside charges an additional 💰 ticket of 5 yuan, and there is a 🌷 tulip special exhibition

Following Nanchizi Street in Dongcheng District, Beijing, northwards, you will find several alleys named after Pudu Temple, such as Pudu Temple Front Alley, Back Alley, East Alley, and West Alley. This naturally arouses curiosity about what Pudu Temple is, given its grand scale near the Imperial City. Walking along the small paths paved with grey bricks and tiles into the depths of the alleys, you will discover a building on a high platform. The main hall, the mountain gate, and the square are all without walls, resembling an open-style palace garden. This is the site of Pudu Temple, which was formerly Dorgon’s mansion. Although only the mountain gate hall, Yinan Hall, and some auxiliary rooms remain today, they still display an extraordinary royal demeanor. Back when the regent held sway over the court, this place was practically another imperial court. Now, the remaining parts of the site are surrounded by residential areas, blending the weight of historical relics with the lightness of everyday life.

This time, the Vacheron Constantin exhibition held at Pudu Temple was by invitation only, so there were very few people. Watching the exhibition in the temple was very leisurely and comfortable, allowing one to spend the whole day there. I really learned a lot this time! I highly recommend everyone to visit museums when they have time. I must say, the wisdom of the ancients was truly unparalleled. The patterns on these porcelains and dragon robes are still very classic today and are often used as references in modern designs. These patterns are very beautiful and have profound meanings. Recommendation: The benefit of visiting museums is that you can learn from the past to understand the present. You can learn a lot of knowledge that you can't find in books and see how our ancestors lived thousands of years ago and what kind of times they experienced. Science Popularization: If you love watching Ming and Qing dynasty palace dramas, you will find that the 'Sea Water and Cliff Pattern' often appears on dragon robes! It also frequently appears on traditional crafts such as porcelain, lacquerware, and furniture. It is a traditional Chinese pattern, commonly known as 'Jiangya Haishui' or 'Haishui Jiangya'. At the bottom of the pattern, many curved lines are arranged diagonally, called 'water feet'. Above the water feet are many rolling waves, with a mountain rock standing in the water, and auspicious clouds embellishing it. It symbolizes 'Blessed Mountain and Longevity Sea' and also carries the meaning of unifying the country. The 'Sea Water and Cliff Pattern' varies in different periods. For example, in the early Ming Dynasty, it was a shell-shaped flat water pattern, in the late Ming Dynasty, it was a cloud pattern, and in the Kangxi period, it was a standing water pattern, etc.

Pudu Temple is a key national cultural heritage site. Its original location was the Southern Palace, where the 'Seizure of the Gate' incident occurred during the Ming Dynasty. It was once the place where Ming Emperor Yingzong, Zhu Qizhen, was imprisoned. The Southern Palace was destroyed by Li Zicheng's peasant army during the reign of Emperor Chongzhen, and was rebuilt as the residence of the regent Dorgon during the Shunzhi era. Emperor Kangxi later converted it into the 'Mahakala Temple,' and Emperor Qianlong bestowed the name 'Pudu Temple.' After more than 300 years of history, it has now become a historical site. Currently, the 'Mountain Gate' and the 'Main Hall' remain. It's a quiet and nice place with few visitors. 🎈Address: 100 meters east of the intersection of Nanchizi Street and Pudu Temple Front Alley in Dongcheng District 🚪Admission: Free 🚗Transportation: Exit B of Tiananmen East Station on Subway Line 1, 930 meters by foot; Exit C of Jinyu Hutong Station on Subway Line 8, over 10 minutes by foot 📷Check-in: Pudu Temple is renowned for its magnolia flowers. There is a row of magnolia trees on each side of the Main Hall. On the left side, there is a yellow magnolia tree, and on the right side, a purple one, while the others are all white. The end of March and the beginning of April is the peak blooming season, and the blossoming flowers set against the tall palace are very beautiful. 👍Use the Main Hall or the intricate brackets as a background for a strong sense of depth and a great atmosphere. 👍For portrait photography, people can stand on the platform under the magnolia trees or in front of the railing of the Main Hall. 👍Try to choose a day with good weather for clearer photos ⏰Opening Hours: The blooming period is from the end of March to the beginning of April, open from 6:00 to 20:00

Walking along the Nanchizi Street in Beijing, there is a hutong area that has been transformed. There are also many deep houses in the center, which is very special in the downtown area of Beijing. In an alley not far from Donghuamen Street, there is a building built on the high platform, the same age as the Forbidden City. This is the Pudu Temple. Pudu Temple is a name given to Qianlong. Although it is a "temple", there is no incense. The Pudu Temple was built in the Ming Dynasty. It was originally called Huangcheng Dongyuan, also known as "Little South City". It is the place where the Prince lived. At the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, it was the residence of the regent King Dorgon.

Walking along the Nanchizi Street in Beijing, there is a hutong area that has been transformed. There are also many deep houses in the center, which is very special in the downtown area of Beijing. In an alley not far from Donghuamen Street, there is a building built on the high platform. It is the same age as the Forbidden City. This is the Pudu Temple. It is named after Qianlong. Although it is a "temple", there is no incense, Purdue. The temple was built in the Ming Dynasty, formerly known as the Imperial City Dongyuan, also known as "Little South City", is the place where the Prince lived. At the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, it was the residence of the regent King Dorgon. The Pudu Temple building is very unique, built on a high platform, and the window is low. There was a stone statue of Dolce at the entrance. Today's Purdue Temple is no longer a royal forbidden place. It is open free of charge. The center's venue has become a large square for leisure residents. Whenever there is good weather in Beijing, there will be many nearby residents. It is very rare to see such a large open space on Nanchizi Street, which is close to the Forbidden City. If you carefully walk around the building, you can see many original architectural relics.