Tanzhe Temple lies in a valley in the Western Hills of the Mentougou district, about forty kilometres from central Beijing, and it is the oldest Buddhist monastery in the Beijing region. Tradition dates its foundation to the Western Jin period in the fourth century, which is well over a thousand years before the Ming built the Forbidden City, and a local saying holds that Tanzhe came first and Beijing afterwards. It has burned and been rebuilt repeatedly and the present halls are mostly Ming and Qing work, but the site and its setting have not changed.
The layout and the trees
The monastery climbs a wooded slope in a series of courtyards, with the main halls along a central line and side halls and monks' quarters stepped up the hillside behind. The courtyards are dominated by old trees, including a pair of ginkgos in front of the main hall that are said to be more than a thousand years old, one of them known as the Emperor Tree. There is also a pagoda forest of stone and brick tombs behind the monastery, holding the stupas of successive abbots, and a pair of ancient Chinese scholar trees and cypresses in the lower courts. The combination of living architecture and very old trees is the reason people come.
What to see inside
The principal halls follow the standard arrangement - a hall of heavenly kings, a main hall with three Buddhas, and a rear hall - and there are smaller chapels to the side, including a hall for Guanyin and one dedicated to the temple's legendary dragon. Several halls hold Ming and Qing bronze and clay figures, and there are steles recording imperial patronage, including work carried out under the Kangxi and Qianlong emperors. The temple is active, so you will see worshippers as well as visitors, and incense smoke in the main courtyards.
Practical notes
Tanzhe is roughly an hour and a half from the city by road and is usually combined with Jietai Temple, another monastery a few kilometres away on the same mountain road, or with a walk in the surrounding hills. It is open daily, charges a modest admission, and takes about two hours at an easy pace. Spring and autumn are the best seasons; the ginkgo leaves turn in late October and early November and the site is very busy then. Weekdays outside that window are quiet, and a weekday morning gives you the courtyards almost to yourself.
