Zhongzhu Temple and Zhizhu Temple

Zhongzhu Temple and Zhizhu Temple

Zhongzhu Temple and Zhizhu Temple are protected cultural heritage sites in Beijing.

Zhongzhu Temple and Zhizhu Temple are located at No. 23, Songzhu Courtyard, behind Jingshan, Dongcheng District. Originally, there were three large temples in a row: Fahui Temple on the east, Zhongzhu Temple in the middle, and Zhizhu Temple on the west. They are situated on the former sites of the Ming Dynasty’s Hanjing Factory and Fajing Factory.

Fahui Temple once had five halls in total: the Mountain Gate Hall, the Heavenly King Hall, the Wuliang Hall, the Mahavira Hall, and the Rear Hall. It no longer exists.

Zhizhu Temple has a total of six layers of halls. The first layer includes the Mountain Gate Hall and the Bell and Drum Towers; the second layer is the Three-Room Heavenly King Hall; the third layer is a double-eaved square hall; the fourth layer is the Rear Hall (also known as the Purification Hall), which has five rooms; the fifth layer has another five-room hall, and behind it lies a two-story building.

Zhongzhu Temple is quite large in scale, divided into three sections, with the main halls located in the central section. The eastern section houses Buddhist halls and scripture rooms. The western section mainly consists of residential buildings. The central section contains five layers of halls from the Mountain Gate to the Rear Building. The Mountain Gate is a single unit, and the Bell and Drum Towers are double-tiered structures; the Heavenly King Hall has three rooms, with red walls on both sides; the Main Hall has five rooms; the Throne Hall has five rooms; and the two-story Rear Building has seven rooms. Most of the major structures of Zhongzhu Temple and Zhizhu Temple remain intact and have not been demolished.

On October 7, 2019, Zhizhu Temple was included in the eighth batch of Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in China.

Location

No. 23, North Lane of Songzhu Courtyard, Dongcheng District, Beijing

Further reading:

· Third Batch of Municipal-Level Protected Cultural Heritage Sites in Beijing

· Eighth Batch of Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in China