Beijing Badachu Park is a delightful escape from the modern concrete forest of skyscrapers. We’d like to share the beautiful moments visiting Badachu Park with you.
The Eight Buddhist Temples and Nunneries
“Badachu” here literally means”eight great sites”, which refer to the eight Buddhist temples and nunneries in the park, hence the name of Beijing Badachu Park.
Located south of the Fragrant Hill in the west of Beijing city proper, this large park has picturesque scenery with three lush green hills and clear-flowing mountain streams.
The eight Buddhist temples and nunneries are scattered around the three hills (Cuiwei, Pingpo and Lushi) in the park, which includes Chang’an Temple (长安寺), Lingguang Temple (灵光寺), Sanshan Nunnery (三山庵), Dabei Temple (大悲寺), Longquan Nunnery (龙泉庵), Xiangjie Temple (香界寺), Baozhu Cave (宝珠洞) and Zhengguo Temple.
Basically you can stroll from one temple to another, enjoying the beautiful scenery and admiring ancient pine, cypress, willow and gingko trees. Some of the trees in Badachu Park have been standing for over 600 years.
Among the eight religious sites, Lingguang Temple (Temple of Divine Light) is the only temple with resident monks. This temple is most worth visiting with the rebuilt 13-story Buddha Tooth Pagoda, on a site which previously kept the sacred Buddha tooth.
It is said in China there are three sites containing the sacred Buddha tooth, and Beijing have two sites.
Xiangjie Temple (Fragrant World Temple) is the largest temple in the park. Baozhu Cave (the Cave of Precious Pearls) is perched highest up the mountain. The two temples are also worth your visits.
Spectacular Views of the Park
Beijing Badachu Park is not only designed for devout Buddhists, or temple lovers, but for park goers, and hiking enthusiasts.
With less than an hour’s walk from the foot of the hill to the top, on a clear-sky day, you can have spectacular panorama views of Beijing city.
Badachu Park is especially popular in autumn when the hills turn red, but it is an attractive and peaceful place to visit all year round.
How to Get There
The park is about 27km to the northwest of Tiananmen Square, the center of Beijing.
To get there, if you want to use the local public transport system, you can take Bus 972 from Pingguoyuan subway station; take Bus 347 at Jishuitan, Xizhimen, Zoo and Baishi Bridge subway stations.
Where to Eat
There is an elegant and neat vegetarian restaurant in the park.
I suggest having a good rest the day before, then next morning you can sleep long and wake up lazily, leaving at 9 am and arriving at the park around 11 am.
You can first go to the vegetarian restaurant for lunch and then go hiking in the park.
The best way to visit the park is to hike up the mountain and then slide down. The slide is very interesting. Enjoy your trip!
Fees for Entrance, Cable Car and Slides
Admission Fee (Adult) : 10 yuan per person
Children (under 1.2 meters high): free of charge
Adult ticket for Cable Down: 60 yuan/person
Adult ticket for Cable Up + Down : 120 yuan/person
Adult ticket for Slide Down: 80 yuan/person
Children ticket for Cable Down : 30 yuan/person
Children ticket for Cable Up and Down : 60 yuan/person
Children ticket for Slide Down: 40 yuan/person
Parent-child combo ticket for Sliding Down: 120 yuan
Tip: Hassle-free Beijing Guided Tours
If you don’t want to go the do-it-yourself route and prefer the hassle-free escorted tours, here are some options for Beijing guided tours:
Car Rental in Beijing
Beijing Day Tour
Beijing Tour Packages
Beijing Winter Tour
Great Wall Tour
Beijing Tours
China City Tours
China Tour
Further Readings
Forbidden City Travel Tips – The Palace Museum Travel Tips
Tips for visiting Summer Palace
Tips for Visiting the Temple of Heaven
Tips for Visiting the Great Wall of China around Beijing
How to Visit Ming Tombs in Beijing
Top 10 Shopping Malls in Beijing
Any questions, just drop a line.
