Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
SIGHTS
DASHILAR
( Dàzhàlan; Qianmen)
Just west of Qianmen Dajie is this centuries-old shopping street, also
known as Dazhalan Jie. While it has been given a makeover, which has sadly robbed it of
much of its charm, many of the shops are the same ones which have been here for hundreds
of years and are well worth a browse for the sometimes esoteric goods - ancient herbal
remedies, handmade cloth shoes - they sell.
|HISTORIC SHOPPING STREET
FǍYUÁN TEMPLE
( Fǎyuán Sì; 7 Fayuansi Qianjie; adult ¥5; 8.30-5pm; Caishikou)
Infused with an air of reverence
and devotion, this lovely temple originally dates back to the 7th century. Now the
China
Buddhism College
, the still active temple was built to honour Tang dynasty soldiers who
had fallen during combat against the northern tribes. The temple follows the typical
Buddhist layout, with drum and bell towers, but do hunt out the unusual
copper-cast
Buddha
seated atop four further Buddhas, themselves ensconced atop a huge bulb of myri-
ad effigies in the Pilu Hall (the fourth hall). Within the Guanyin Hall is a Ming-dynasty
Thousand Hand and Thousand Eye Guanyin
, while a huge supine Buddha reclines in
the rear hall. From the entrance of Niujie Mosque, walk left 100m then turn left into the
first
hútòng
. Follow the
hútòng
for about 10 minutes, and you'll arrive at Fǎyuán Temple.
|BUDDHIST TEMPLE
DEATH BY A THOUSAND CUTS
The now abolished district of Xuānwǔ owed its name to the grand old gate of Xuānwǔ Mén, long since demol-
ished. But the irreverent locals used to call it by its more nefarious nickname, the Gate of Punishment (Xíng
Mén), as it rose up near the imperial execution ground at Càishì Kǒu, where wrongdoers endured 'slow slicing',
or 'death by a thousand cuts'. Càishì Kǒu's name lives on as a subway stop on Line 4.
NIÚJIĒ MOSQUE
( Niújiē Lǐbài Sì; 6353 2564; 88 Niu Jie; adult ¥10, admission free for Muslims; 8am-sunset; Caishikou)
Dating back to the 10th century and lively with worshippers on Fridays (it's closed to non-
Muslims at prayer times), Běijīng's largest mosque is the centre of the community for the
|MOSQUE
