Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
gone; in its place is a miniature Ming-dynasty pagoda alloyed from gold, silver, zinc and
lead.
Note that on Wednesdays the first 200 visitors get in for free.
As you exit the temple, see if you can track down the nearby remains of Yánqìng
Temple and Dragon King Temple, further east along the canal. If you fancy travelling
from here to the Summer Palace by boat (¥70, 20 minutes, every hour 10.30am to 4.20pm
April to September), as the emperors once did, you can buy tickets at the nearby north
gate of Zǐzhúyuàn Park ( Zǐzhúyuàn Gōngyuán). To walk from here to Wǔtǎ Temple takes
around 20 minutes.
WǓTǍ TEMPLE
|BUDDHIST TEMPLE
( Wǔtǎ Sì; 24 Wutasi Cun, adult ¥20, audio guide ¥10; 9am-4pm; National Library, Exit C)
Known previ-
ously as Zhēnjué Temple (Zhēnjué Sì), the distinctive Indian-styled Wǔtǎ Temple (Five
Pagoda Temple) is a hugely rewarding place to visit, not only because of its unusual archi-
tectural style, but also because of the magnificent collection of stone carvings found with-
in its grounds. The temple is topped by its five attractive namesake pagodas. The exterior
of the main hall is decorated with
dorje
, hundreds of images of Buddha and legions of
beasts, amid traces of red pigment. During Ming times, the temple ranged to at least six
halls, all later tiled in yellow during Qing times; the terrace where the Big Treasure Hall
once stood can still be seen. The temple, dating from 1473, is highly unusual for Běijīng,
and well worth a visit in itself, but the highlight here is the extraordinary collection of
stone carvings, some housed carefully in buildings at the back of the complex but many
just scattered around the temple grounds. Pieces you might stumble across include grave-
stones, animal statues, carved human figures, stone stele and some enormous
bìxì
(mythic-
al tortoiselike dragons often seen in Confucian temples). The pieces were all recovered
from various places in Běijīng and put here for their protection during the latter end of the
last century. Most are Qing and Ming dynasty, but there are a number of Yuán, Tang, Jin
and even Eastern Han dynasty pieces, some of which are almost 2000 years old. Many, al-
though not all, have explanatory captions in English; those captioned in Chinese only do
at least have the date of origin written in numerals.
As with Wànshòu Temple, on Wednesdays the first 200 visitors get in for free here.
Note, you can enter the north gate of Běijīng Zoo from here. Cross the canal over the
decorative arched bridge.
ARTHUR M SACKLER MUSEUM
OF ART & ARCHAEOLOGY
|MUSEUM
