Beijing Random Notes: Classics Museum - Yongdingmen - Fayuan Temple

Number of days: 1 day
With whom：a person
Tour kinds: Free travel, cycling, small-scale travel, weekend trip
Updated: 2023.05.02

Due to work, I'm spending the entire year in Beijing. Having already visited all of Beijing's major attractions, this time I'll be able to explore the city's hutongs and alleys for a leisurely stroll – a true blessing. I'm usually too lazy to type, so I can only occasionally write a follow-up note, which serves as a memory of this year.

My dorm is near Beijing West Railway Station, between Wanzi Station on Line 7 and Muxidi Station on Line 1. I usually use a shared bike as my first step when leaving the house.

I arrived in Beijing after the Spring Festival, and the next day, a weekend away, the weather was perfect, and I began my journey under blue skies. The day before, I made a free reservation for the National Museum of Chinese Classics (though reservations are no longer required starting April 11th). Most attractions and museums in Beijing require advance reservations; you can find the reservation portal by searching on WeChat. The National Museum of Chinese Classics is the South Branch of the National Library of China. I've never been there before, so this trip is a good way to fill in the gap. The National Library of China is located on Zhongguancun South Street, a stop on Metro Line 4. After passing security through the northeast gate and heading south into the National Museum of Classic Books building, I happened to catch the four major exhibitions of 20th-century ancient document discoveries, including Ming and Qing archives, Dunhuang manuscripts, oracle bones from Yinxu, and Han bamboo slips from Juyan. There were also special exhibitions, including the basic display of classics, the Yongle Encyclopedia, and the Exploitation of the Works of Nature. These exhibitions coincided with several episodes of CCTV's "China in Classics," and I was pleasantly surprised to find that they significantly extended my visit, lasting a full four hours and learning a great deal about textual texts. They say Song Dynasty books are as valuable as gold, but I find that while the fonts are beautiful, the spacing between characters is too small, and the characters are so crowded together that they're a bit difficult to read. They're better than the more open layout of Ming and Qing Dynasty block-printed editions. Perhaps it's my presbyopia.

The Song edition of Literary Masterpieces.

The Song edition of Cefu Yuangui

The Rongyutang edition of Water Margin is also the original version of Water Margin published by People's Literature Publishing House.

The Dream of the Red Chamber (Yimao Edition)

Dream Stream Talks

"The Exploitation of the Works of Nature," along with the Chinese texts from ancient times, brought me up close again, seeing Song Yingxing's own edition. Yinxu oracle bones and Juyan Han bamboo slips. Han Li script is truly beautiful.

The Yongle Encyclopedia exhibition. Unfortunately, only one in a hundred pieces of the encyclopedia remains, making it extremely precious. It was almost 1pm when I came out of the Classic Library. Before leaving, I stopped by the library in the North Building. The inverted pyramid-shaped library has a novel design and there are many more people reading books than visiting the exhibitions.

Coming out of the National Library, I was wondering where to go. Since I had never been to Xiannongtan, I wanted to go and see it. I took a taxi and first went to Yongdingmen near Xiannongtan. A long north-south Yongdingmen Park was built around Yongdingmen. Due to epidemic prevention and control reasons, the park only opened two entrances and exits at the north and south ends, which was very inconvenient. I walked along the railing on the west side of the park to the west side of the city wall, but I couldn't find the entrance. I asked a middle-aged man fishing next to me in confusion. He pointed to the railing and said in a Beijing accent, "Flip in." Listen to advice and walk less.

Yongdingmen is the south gate of Beijing's Outer City, facing north from Zhengyangmen, the inner city's south gate, making it the southernmost point of Beijing's central axis. However, the original city tower and the arrow tower in front of it were demolished in 1957. The current one was rebuilt to its original appearance in 2004. The stone plaque on the gate archway that was demolished is now preserved in the Capital Museum and is worth seeing.

To the south of the tower is a square, and to the north is a park with a camping area. I arrived quite by chance and saw the tower. Due to the need for Beijing's Central Axis to be nominated for World Heritage status, a series of ancient buildings surrounding the axis, including Yongdingmen, needed to be renovated. Soon, the city tower was completely covered up, along with the Zhengyangmen Tower.

After viewing the tower, I asked the security guard where the exit was and headed north out of the park's north gate. I found a shared bike and followed the navigation to Xiannongtan. Passing by the Tianqiao Art Center, I discovered a new world. Later, I went there to see several performances, including "Five Stars Rising from the East" and "Only Green." Across the Tianqiao bridge are the National Museum of Natural History and the west gate of the Temple of Heaven. I saw so many people pouring into the west gate.

Arriving at the Xiannongtan Temple, now the Beijing Museum of Ancient Architecture, I learned it's also closed for renovations due to the Central Axis's World Heritage status application. I heard it'll reopen in June, so I'll come back then. Looking at the map, I'd pass Fayuan Temple on the way back to my place. It's so famous, how could I miss it? Cycling along Nanheng East and West Streets, I saw a sign on the roadside that said "Fayuan Temple Block," clearly a cultural and creative area. There was outdoor seating on the street, a cafe with a quirky name: "Shiqian*Shiqian*Shiqian." It was quite crowded, so I went in and warmed my hands with a cup of coffee.

The alley next to it is called "Lanman Hutong," a nice name.

Walking further down the alley, I saw the facade of the Hunan Guild Hall, which is now a kindergarten. Mao Zedong lived here when he came to Beijing in 1920 to lead the anti-Zhang campaign, a scene that is also portrayed in "Awakening Age." Exit the alley and continue cycling, heading into Qijing Hutong, then Xizhuan Hutong, Fayuansiqian Street, and finally the gates of Fayuan Temple. Beijing's temples are similar in style, with smaller gates but all boasting considerable fame. I first learned about Fayuan Temple through Li Ao's book. Fayuan Temple was first built during the reign of Emperor Taizong of Tang and completed during the reign of Empress Wu Zetian. Named Minzhong Temple, it was built by Emperor Taizong to commemorate the soldiers who died in the Korean War. The ruins also include a green space between the current Fayuan Temple gate and Nanheng West Street. During the Jingkang Incident, Emperors Huizong and Qinzong were captured and imprisoned here upon arrival in Beijing. During the reign of Emperor Yongzheng, it was renamed Fayuan Temple and designated a Vinaya school temple. Emperor Qianlong even bestowed the inscription "Fahai Zhenyuan" (Fahai Zhenyuan) on the temple, which hangs inside the hall. Unfortunately, photography is prohibited inside, so I wasn't able to capture any.

Now Fayuan Temple is the seat of the Chinese Buddhist Academy. Ancient trees stand tall in the temple. The Buddha statue in the Vimalakirti Hall is said to be modeled after Emperor Wanli's mother. A lazy cat at the innermost corner attracts the attention of tourists.