[Beijing] Built in 1443 during Ming Dynasty, the Fahai Temple (法海寺) is a Buddhist temple located at the foot of Cuiwei Moutain, Beijing’s outskirt. Historians believed that although the Temple was built by Li Tong, a powerful Ming eunuch, ostensibly to show his indebtedness to Emperor Yingzong (明英宗), Li had his own agenda, as his tomb sits just a few hundred meters away down the slope. For those who had read enough about the evils of the Ming eunuchs, you would know collectively, history -official and unofficial – has long painted them as a highly corrupted and greedy group, capable of not much except endless manipulation and incrimination of loyal officials. Many historians also blamed them for the fall of the Ming dynasty. Today, the Temple is more famous for its beautiful wall murals from the Ming dynasty, which include marvellous paintings of Bodhisattvas and heavenly deities. Visitors who wants to look at these paintings would be required to put on shoe gloves and will be given a torchlight as the hall with these murals are in complete darkness. It will be a very special experience and definitely worth the long car ride and some hiking in the mountain! 🔦 📍Beijing, China. 中国北京。🇨🇳 . . . #china #beijing #forbiddencity #travelthroughthelenses #nonmainstream #ancientchina #travelgram #igchina #history #love #chinagram #seetheworld #bitesize #beijinger #chinese #chinesearchitecture #citygrammers #oldplaces #chinaexplorer #discoverchina #createexplore #winter #instatravel #sihantravels #igdaily #instabeijing #notatourist #中国 #北京 #故宫

[Beijing] The Ruins of Miaojue Temple (妙觉禅寺遗址) is located in the Phoenix Mountain (凤凰岭), to the west of rural Beijing. A remain stele revealed that it was built by Emperor Zhangzong of Jin (金章宗), the Jurchen-led Jin Dynasty (金朝), it was part of his imperial gardens which he had built to escape the heat from the capital city during summer. The Temple was renovated in Ming dynasty and became a place where the eunuchs were ordained as Buddhist monks after their retirement. Although eunuchs were depicted as powerful figures in dramas and novels, but most of them were poor and came from the bottom of the society. After their service to the imperial family, most of them would become a Taoist priest or Buddhist monk which they will devote their lives religiously till the end. Most eunuchs were despised and outcasted because they were castrated, so they would donate much of their money to monasteries or temples such as the Miaojue Temple. Most of the buildings withered over time, the remaining ones were said to be torched by the Japanese army in the autumn of 1941, leaving just a ginkgo tree and some stone foundation, oh ya, not forgetting the stele which forms the ruin site of the Temple. 📍Beijing, China. 中国北京。🇨🇳 . . . #china #beijing #forbiddencity #travelthroughthelenses #nonmainstream #ancientchina #travelgram #igchina #history #love #seetheworld #bitesize #beijinger #chinese #explorechina #chinesearchitecture #chinasights #offthebeatenpath #citygrammers #oldplaces #chinaexplorer #discoverchina #createexplore #instatravel #sihantravels #igdaily #instabeijing #notatourist #中国 #北京

[Fragrant Hills, Beijing] The Temple of Azure Clouds, or (碧云寺, Bi Yun Si) is a buddhist temple located in the west of Fragrant Hills, built in the 13th century, and was expanded at least 2 times during Ming and Qing dynasty. The entire place is more than a scenic place, but also full of hidden cultural treasures, I don’t mean literally. Other than being a buddhist temple, it was also a designated burial place for Wei Zhongxian (魏忠贤), an infamous and powerful eunuch from Ming dynasty, hundreds of upright and loyal officials were expelled or killed by his treacherous actions. The flatters were clamouring for a while and the imperial court fell into the darkest days, it was disaster for the empire, but the Ming emperor was only indulging in his personal interest and he died at the age of 21. Emperor Chongzhen was swift and severe in eliminating Wei, the latter hung himself with his own belt. However, the new emperor ordered to have Wei’s corpse dismembered and displayed in his hometown to serve as a warning to other eunuchs. In the end, he couldn’t be buried in the Temple of Azure Clouds as planned. Today, there are no longer any monks or religious personnel living in the Temple, thus strictly speaking it shouldn’t be seen as a place of worship anymore, many believe that as long as there is no more chanting of scriptures and offering of incense, the statues are just beautiful arts sculptures. 📍Beijing, China. 中国北京。🇨🇳 . . . #china #beijing #forbiddencity #travelthroughthelenses #nonmainstream #ancientchina #travelgram #igchina #history #love #snow #seetheworld #bitesize #beijinger #chinese #chinesearchitecture #citygrammers #oldplaces #chinaexplorer #discoverchina #createexplore #xiangshan #instatravel #sihantravels #igdaily #instabeijing #notatourist #中国 #北京 #香山