Fahai Temple in Shijingshan

　　It was built between the fourth and eighth years of the Zhengtong era of the Ming Dynasty (1439 AD), funded by Li Tong, a favored eunuch of Emperor Yingzong of Ming, on the site of the former Longquan Temple. The temple was bestowed its name “Fahai Chan Temple” by Emperor Yingzong himself. “Fahai” means the vastness of Buddhist teachings, likened to the ocean. The greatest value and essence of Fahai Temple lie in the well-preserved large-scale Ming Dynasty murals located inside the Mahavira Hall. These murals were completed in the eighth year of the Zhengtong era (1443 AD) and painted by 15 court painters including Wan Fuqing and Wang Shu. The content of the murals is primarily religious. The figures depicted are rich in imagination—though they are religious personages, the artists imbued them with deep inner emotions, conveying a pure and sincere human touch that moves the heart. The depictions of flowers, plants, birds, and animals are also exquisitely rendered with fine brushwork. The patterns in the murals reflect an exceptional level of painting skill. Having endured over 550 years, the Fahai Temple murals remain resplendent in gold and color, which is rare among murals both in China and abroad. The preservation of the Fahai Temple murals is due not only to the high quality of the materials and scientific architectural craftsmanship, but also to special painting techniques such as “gold relief” and “layered shading.” The pigments used are all mineral-based. There are as many as seven different methods of applying gold. Some parts of the murals feature up to seven layers of shaded coloring. Such meticulous, diverse, and refined artistry is unparalleled in the history of Chinese mural painting. Transportation

　　Take bus No. 311 or 366 from Pingguoyuan and get off at Modekou.

　　 Beijing Shijingshan