Zhenjue Temple

　　Zhenjue Temple is situated on the north bank of the Chang River, east of Baishiqiao outside Xizhimen in Haidian District. It consists of five uniquely shaped, elaborately carved small stone pagodas built on a single raised platform, which is why people commonly refer to Zhenjue Temple as the Five Pagoda Temple. It is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

　　During the Yongle era of the Ming Dynasty (around 1413), the Indian monk Pandida came to Beijing and presented five golden Buddha statues along with a design of the Indian-style "Buddhagaya Stupa." The Yongle Emperor ordered the construction of a stupa based on the design, and in the ninth year of the Chenghua reign (1473), the Vajra Throne Pagoda was completed according to the submitted blueprint. The temple was completely destroyed during the invasion of the Eight-Nation Alliance, but the pagoda survived. This type of pagoda is now found in only six locations across China: three in Beijing—namely at the Five Pagoda Temple, Biyun Temple, and Huangsi Temple; one in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia; one at Miaolian Temple in Kunming, Yunnan; and one at Guanghui Temple in Zhengding, Hebei. Among them, the Five Pagoda Temple in Beijing is considered the most exquisite.