Guangji Temple in Beijing

Guangji Temple in Beijing

Guangji Temple in Beijing is a national AAA-level tourist attraction and a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Guangji Temple in Beijing is located on Fuchengmennei Street in Xisi, downtown Beijing, and currently serves as the headquarters of the Buddhist Association of China. In 1983, it was designated as a National Key Buddhist Temple in Han Chinese Areas. The history of Guangji Temple can be traced back to the Jin Dynasty. After the ravages of war during the Jin and Yuan Dynasties, the temple was reduced to ruins. During the Jingtai era (1450–1456) of the Ming Dynasty, some people digging the ground unearthed pottery Buddha statues, ritual vessels, stone turtles, and stone column capitals, realizing that this was the site of an ancient temple. By the early Tian Shun era (1457–1464), Puhui, a monk from Shanxi, together with his disciple Yuanghong and others, vowed to revive the temple. With strong financial support from Liao Ping of the Imperial Wardrobe Office, they rebuilt the temple on its original site. It took two years, and the precious temple was restored.

During the Qing Dynasty, due to Guangji Temple’s location along the mandatory route for imperial processions out of the city, it received significant royal attention. Several emperors visited to offer incense, some even composed poems or erected steles in its honor, or bestowed plaques upon it. This elevated the temple’s status, making it an important Buddhist site in the capital. In November 1931, a fire accidentally broke out at the temple, and most of its main buildings were burned down. Later, under the fundraising efforts of then-abbot Xianming, the temple was reconstructed and completed in 1935, on a grander scale than before.

In 1953, when the Buddhist Association of China was established, it chose this temple as its headquarters. During the Cultural Revolution, Guangji Temple suffered severe damage. By 1972, due to the needs of the country’s foreign affairs, the Buddhist Association of China resumed its regular operations and carried out large-scale restoration work on the temple’s halls.

Along the central axis of the temple, from south to north, are the Mountain Gate, the Heavenly King Hall, the Mahavira Hall, the Yuantong Hall, and the Scripture Depository. On either side are the Bell and Drum Towers, stone lions guarding the entrance, imperial inscribed stelae, the Guest Reception Hall, the Dharma Lecture Hall, the Library, and the Jade-carved Ordination Platform, among other structures. At the back wall of the Mahavira Hall is a large finger-painted mural, created in the ninth year of the Qianlong reign (1744) by artist Fu Wen under imperial decree using his fingers. Titled “The Auspicious Sound of Victory,” the painting stands five meters high and ten meters wide. It is the largest existing mural in China depicting the scene of the Buddha preaching and is also a treasured piece of Buddhist art.

The Scripture Depository houses many precious Buddhist scriptures. This building is now called the “Relic Pagoda.” The reason is that after the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the Buddha’s tooth relic discovered at the site of the Thousand Buddha Pagoda from the Liao Dynasty at the original Lingguang Temple in the Western Hills’ Eight Great Sites was moved here for enshrinement, leading to the renaming. To the west of the Relic Pagoda is a small courtyard. In the main hall of the courtyard is a white marble carved ordination platform, installed in the 37th year of the Kangxi reign (1698) by Zhanyou, a disciple of then-abbot Hengming. The carving is exquisite and well-preserved, and it is the only ordination platform in Beijing. Transportation

Address: No. 25, Fuchengmennei Street, Xicheng District, Beijing. Buses 13, 101, 102, 103, 105, 823, 812, and 814 stop at Xisi Station.

Address: No. 25, Fuchengmennei Street, Xicheng District, Beijing

Type: Temple

Recommended visiting time: 2–3 hours

Phone: 010-66160907

Opening Hours:

7:00-16:30

Ticket Information:

Free admission.

Further Reading:

· Third Batch of Municipal-Level Cultural Relics Protection Units in Beijing

· Sixth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units