Miaofeng Mountain Cherry Valley Village

Miaofeng Mountain Cherry Valley Village

Situated in Cherry Valley Village, Miaofengshan Town, Mentougou District, Beijing, 55 kilometers from the city center, this is a tourism and agricultural park that integrates historical landmarks, cherry picking, pond fishing, folk culture sightseeing, and science education. During the Qing Dynasty, Cherry Valley Village was known as "Below the Temple," named after the renowned Liao Dynasty imperial monastery—Yangshan Xiyin Chan Temple—that stood proudly on the Lotus Peak within the village. The Yangshan Qiyin Chan Temple was resplendent and housed many eminent monks. It became a favored site of the imperial family during the Jin Dynasty, with Emperor Zhangzong of Jin, Wanyan Yongji, bestowing a stone tablet inscribed with: “In the golden realm lies the splendid vision of Tusita Heaven; amidst the blue lotuses rises the palace of the Buddha King. Cranes startle at the clear dew under the moon of midnight; tigers roar through the sparse woods with winds through the valleys.” During the Jin and Yuan periods, there were over 800 stupas outside the temple, making it the largest stupa forest in the Beijing area at the time. Though the temple has endured millennia and suffered numerous adversities, remnants such as broken walls, stone carvings, steles, ancient pagodas, medicine grinders, and Liao Dynasty bricks all bear witness to Yangshan’s former glory. Cherry Valley Village is seven kilometers away from the world-renowned Miaofeng Mountain Scenic Area and boasts picturesque scenery that has attracted generations of literati and poets, leaving behind a wealth of poems and verses praising Yangshan. The village is home to the "Lejing Shanzhai" (Pavilion of Secluded Joy in the Mountains), a private villa that once belonged to Reginald Fleming Johnston, the English tutor of China’s last emperor, Aisin-Gioro Puyi. Johnston, originally named Reginald F. Johnston, was Scottish. In 1898, he was sent to the East and held positions such as secretary to the Governor of Hong Kong and administrator of the British leased territory of Weihaiwei. The villa faces south, built with hard mountain water walls and a ridged roof with front eaves extending outward. Seven pavilions surrounded by flowers and trees are tucked among the greenery, and the villa remains well-preserved to this day.

Source: Beijing Municipal Commission of Tourism Development