Three Shops

Three Shops

The thousand-year-old ancient village of Three Shops is located on the banks of the Yongding River in the northeastern part of Mentougou. It was once a bustling ferry hub teeming with merchants and served as the starting point of trade routes to Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Inner Mongolia. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, over 200 merchant establishments gathered here, earning it the title “First Village of Western Beijing.” The Camel Xiangzi from Lao She’s novel once passed through this very place. Today, Three Shops still retains relics such as old coal depots, the Dragon King Temple, the White-robed Guanyin Nunnery, the Iron Anchor Temple, and the Shanxi Guild Hall.

At the junction of East Street and Middle Street stands a Qing Dynasty building — the Three Shops Primary School, which was originally the Shanxi Guild Hall. The guild hall faces south with its back to the north, featuring a main hall of six rooms. The front three rooms have a rolled shed roof, while the rear three have a flush gable and hip roof adorned with ridge beasts. The hall is covered with yellow glazed tiles, resting atop a bluestone base. Legend has it that the Shanxi Guild Hall was built during the Qianlong era by Zhao Bangqing, a royal-appointed merchant in charge of glazed tile production. Because of his ties to the imperial court, he dared to use yellow glazed tiles on the roof.

Diagonally across from the Three Shops Primary School lies the White-robed Guanyin Nunnery, which was first built in the Tang Dynasty. The nunnery faces west with its back to the east and features a brick-carved gatehouse. It originally enshrined the Goddess Guanyin.

Three Shops was an important distribution hub for coal in Western Beijing. Coal tycoons built numerous mansions throughout the village. The most representative is the Yin Family Courtyard, also known as the Tianli Coal Factory Courtyard. The Tianli Coal Factory was a long-established business with a history of over 200 years, founded by the Yin family around the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty, and reached its peak during the Tongzhi and Guangxu eras. The coal factory covered an area of 3,508 square meters, consisting of three courtyard complexes, 73 rooms, and 14 gates, forming a complete large-scale quadrangle compound. Nowadays, the brick carvings above the gates are covered with yellow mud, reportedly to avoid destruction during the “Smash the Four Olds” campaign. Despite the weathered mud, the exquisite architecture and the prosperity of the family can still be glimpsed underneath.

The Dragon King Temple in Three Shops is the most popular among dozens of such temples in Western Beijing. Its predecessor was the Longxing Nunnery, built during the Ming Dynasty. The main hall’s shrine houses five dragon deities: statues of the Dragon Kings of the East Sea, West Sea, South Sea, and North Sea, along with the statue of the Yongding River God on the far left. Some other Dragon King Temples in the Yongding River basin have also enshrined the Yongding River God, but none of those statues have survived. This one here is the only remaining statue of the Yongding River God. The 13th day of the sixth lunar month is the River God’s birthday. On this day, the Dragon King Temple in Three Shops holds incense offerings and banquets for the dragon and river gods, and villagers gather at the temple to eat longevity noodles in celebration of the River God’s birthday. Even today, elders speak with great enthusiasm and fondness about celebrating the River God’s birthday.

Address: Longquan Town, Mentougou District, Beijing

Type: Historical Architecture