Route 1: The Cuàn-Bǎi Line
Overview: The scenic area includes Qinglongjian, Huanglingxi, the magical Beijing West Stone Village – Shuāngshítou, and Cuàndǐxià, recognized as one of China’s first historical and cultural villages.
Tour Highlights: Ancient Village Exploration in the Suburbs
Tanzhe Temple
The Tanzhe-Jietai Line is a key tourist destination along National Highway 108 in Mentougou, where the famous Tanzhe Temple and Jietai Temple are located.
Tanzhe Temple is situated in the southeastern part of Mentougou District and is a national key cultural relics protection unit. It gets its name from the Dragon Pool behind the temple and the abundant Zhe trees (Cudrania tricuspidata) that once covered the mountain. Established during the Western Jin Dynasty (265–317 AD), the temple has a history of over 1,700 years — 800 years older than Beijing itself — hence the saying “Tanzhe Temple came before Beijing.”
Covering a vast area, Tanzhe Temple has 2.5 hectares within its main grounds, 11.2 hectares outside, plus over 121 hectares of forest and mountain land under its administration. The halls are built along the mountain’s contours, creating a well-spaced and picturesque layout. Today, the temple complex consists of 943 rooms, including 638 ancient halls, all preserving the architectural styles of the Ming and Qing dynasties. As the largest ancient temple complex in Beijing’s suburbs, its design embodies classic Chinese architectural aesthetics — centered around a main axis with symmetrical wings, giving an impression of order, hierarchy, and clarity. Architectural forms include halls, chambers, pavilions, studies, verandas, towers, terraces, and more.
Famous ancient trees within the temple, such as the thousand-year-old “Emperor Tree” and “Vice-Emperor Tree” ginkgos, Zhe trees, sal trees, magnolia, Yulan blossoms, and cypresses, bear witness to Tanzhe Temple’s long history. Outside the temple are numerous structures and scenic spots — Anletang, Upper and Lower Pagoda Courts, East and West Guanyin Caves, Tiger Listening Cave — scattered like stars around the moon, forming a vast tourist area with many attractions. Zhao Puchu, late president of the Buddhist Association of China, once wrote a couplet in its praise: “Its aura commands half the Taihang Mountains; its site pioneers the ancient land of Youzhou.”
Jietai Temple is located at the foot of Ma’anshan Mountain in Mentougou District, 35 kilometers from central Beijing. Overlooking the capital to the east and sitting at an elevation of over 300 meters, it covers an area of 4.4 hectares with a built-up area of 8,392 square meters. The temple’s halls are built along the mountain slopes, creating a layout that is both majestic like northern temples and serene like southern gardens. With strong religious significance and breathtaking natural scenery, it is not only a renowned Buddhist site but also a famous tourist destination.
Jietai Temple was first built during the Sui Dynasty’s Kaihuang era (581–600 AD) and has a history of over 1,400 years. It is commonly known as Jietai (Ordination Terrace) Temple because it houses the largest Buddhist ordination platform in China.
Jietai Temple is famed for its “Ordination Terrace, Exotic Pines, and Ancient Caves.” The ordination platform was constructed in the fifth year of the Xianyong era of the Liao Dynasty (1069 AD) and, together with those of Kaiyuan Temple in Quanzhou, Fujian, and Zhaoqing Temple in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, is recognized as one of China’s “Three Great Ordination Terraces.” Among them, the one at Jietai Temple is the largest, earning it the title “The No. 1 Ordination Terrace in the World.” It is the highest-grade ordination site in the history of Chinese Buddhism and remains well-preserved despite the passage of time.
The temple is home to many ancient and rare trees, including 88 nationally protected specimens, most notably its ancient pines. These pines, whether naturally formed or shaped by human hands, have endured centuries of wind and snow, developing unique forms that are highly valued for their beauty. The “Activity Pine,” “Free Pine,” “Nine-Dragon Pine,” “Pagoda-Hugging Pine,” and “Crouching Dragon Pine” are known collectively as the “Five Pines of Jietai.” When the breeze blows, they create the distinctive “Sound of Pines on the Ordination Terrace” phenomenon.
The mountain behind Jietai Temple is composed of limestone. Over millions of years, erosion by rainwater has formed numerous natural caves, where stalactites and stalagmites create bizarre and stunning shapes. As the saying goes, “There are dragons leaping, fish swimming, lions sitting — all formed by the solidified stone.” These have given rise to many legends and inspired wonder. Some of the caves were further modified into grotto temples used for meditation by eminent monks in the past.
Additionally, adjacent to Jietai Temple is the newly built Dingdu Pavilion Scenic Area. Dingdu Pavilion is located on Dingdu Peak in Tanzhe Temple Town, Mentougou District, Beijing, at an altitude of 680 meters. Its main structure was completed in 2012. Covering a land area of 550 square meters and a building area of 2,400 square meters, the pavilion is 33.9 meters high with six stories — one underground and six above, though two of these are blind floors, making the visible structure three stories tall.
Dingdu Pavilion features a traditional Chinese architectural style, with multiple hip-and-gable roofs combining into a composite form. Each floor is adorned with single-curved, single-rising bracket sets (dougong) in the traditional five-tiered style, receding in layers and complemented by cantilevered corridors. Because it sits atop Dingdu Peak at the western end of the western extension of Chang’an Avenue, it is named Dingdu Pavilion.
“An ancient peak marks the capital; a new pavilion shines over Chang’an.” Dingdu Pavilion, at the western terminus of the Chang’an Avenue extension, complements the Grand Canal in Tongzhou to the east, forming a new core cultural landmark of Beijing — “the Grand Canal in the east, Dingdu Pavilion in the west.” It has become a symbolic new architectural highlight and adds brilliance to the development of Mentougou District’s tourism, culture, and leisure industries, as well as to the creation of an international high-end mountain tourism and cultural resort in the capital.