Wanshou Temple (万寿寺） in Chinese means “Longevity Temple” or “Wanshousi” (Wanshou Temple). Wanshou Temple is one of the most important imperial temples in Beijing. It was first constructed between 881 and 884 in Tang Dynasty ( 618 -907). Its name was changed for the present Wanshou Temple in 1577 during the reign of Wanli Emperor ((1563 – 1620) in Ming Dynasty.
ABCs of Wanshou Temple
Wanshou Temple was also favored by Kangxi Emperor(1654-1722), Qianlong Emperor (1711 –1799) and Guangxu Emperor (1871 – 1908) in Qing Dynasty. Wanshou Temple went through several repairs and revamps through Qing Dynasty. Empress Dowager Cixi (1835-1908) often used the temple as a stopover between Summer Palace and Forbidden City.
Now Wanshou Temple houses Beijing Art Museum, (北京艺术博物馆). The museum has a permanent collection of over 1 70,000 things – porcelains, earthenwares, enamels, carved lacquer ware, ivory carving, wood carving and etc.
Plan your Beijing tour? After you have visited some must see attractions in Beijing like Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Temple of Heaven and the Great Wall, you may consider choosing Wanshou Temple, which will offer you some glimpses into Beijing’ religion, arts and architecture in Ming and Qing dynasties.
On May 25, 2006, Wanshou Temple as listed as China’s key protection cultural relics in the name of China’s ancient architecture.
How to get there?
Wanshou Temple is closed on Monnday. Wanshou Temple is located in the northwest of Beijing, not far from Summer Place. Its official address is North Road, Xishanhuan, Haidian District and leave the present world. You may used take bus 300, 323 or 374 and get off at Wanshou Temple Stop.
Tel: 6841 3380 Entrance fee: CNY20
Virtual Tour of Wanshou Temple
This is the Temple Gate. Above the gate is a picture depicting one hundred bats flying between the blue sky and the cloud, which implies that people coming here will have good luck.
The Temple Gate
Outside the Temple Gate of Wanshou Temple is the famous river in Beijing – Changhe (Long River). The 9km Changhe River, also known as Royal River or Gaoliang River in Ming Dynasty, is the only river with some connection with the imperial family in Qing Dynasty. Beijing boat tour on Change River is an interesting outside activity in Beijing.
Beijing boat tour
Entering the Temple Gate, you will see the Hall of Deva Kings. It used to be the statues of the four heavenly kings on both sides of the hall.
After the Hall of the Deva Kings, is the main hall, the Mahavira Hall (Baxiong BaoDian), worshipping the founder of Buddhism.
The Mahavira Hall
North of the Main Hall is the Wanshou Tower. The Wanshou Tower is the place for preaching that monastery.
The Wanshou Tower
After the preaching hall is a pile of rockeries, a symbol of the three religious mountains. Red wooden sticks indicates good luck, which are bound around trees inside Wanshou Temple.
Red wooden sticks indicates good luck
Beautiful Traditional Architecture
This yard gate was built in 1761 in Qing Dynasty. It is a half Chinese and half western. Its arched top is the French structure style.
Its arched top is the French structure style
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:
Plan your Beijing village tour? Numerous villages are dotted in the suburbs of Beijing. One village known as Cuandixia Village stands out as a unique window through which you learn more about the folk culture and vernacular architecture in Beijing.
Cuandixia Village is nestled in a valley among the mountainous areas, 90km west of downtown Beijing. One and half hours driving brings day-trippers to this village. Cuandixia Village is supremely peaceful over-400-old village, hugging a hillside in a valley with ancient Qing-Dynasty styled courtyards scaling many layers.
The courtyard buildings are spread like a huge fan spreading to the east and west side along a north-south axis. The village running up the hillside is naturally divided into the Upper village and Lower Village by a curved wall 200-meter long and 20-meter high. Also 170-meter curve wall circles the village from the bottom of the populated hillside. Three north-south lanes connect the upper and lower villages, keeping the village from possible floods and robbery in the past.
A curved walking route brings you atop the slope of the valley south of Cuandixia Village, you may have a panoramic view of the village fanning on the hillside on the another side of valley. You will clearly see a high wall cutting the village into upper and lower parts.
Many visitors would choose the two curved walking routes ( one loop waking trail ) – one curve takes you to the village and the other brings you up on the top of the hillside south of the village where you may have a bird’s-eye view of the village hugging other side of the valley.
One thing we’d like to remind you that you won’t expect any paddy fields here in Cuandixia Villages. The remaining families in then village mainly live on rual tourism – offering homestays and food to tourists flocking here.
Listed as one of China’s famous historical villages, Cuandixia is a bright pearl of China’s ancient building encompassing the profound northern China’s architecture. You see plentiful Chinese elements of traditional architecture – Courtyard buildings, wall screens, arch gates with buildings scaling the hillside.
The rich and profound culture could be found from the Ming-dynasty relics, Qing-dynasty dwellings, old wall paintings, ruined houses left over from the Second World War. It is interesting to know that people could still discern the revolutionary slogans painted the exterior walls in the village. Old stone rollers, millstones, old wells and tempes add much to the charming of Cuandixia Village.
Below are a set of photos for you to feel this picturesque ancient village of Cuandixia.
The Chinese character of Cuandixia ” 爨”.
The 200m along and 20m wide wall sections the village into the upper and the lower. Several layer of houses hug the hillside with impressive views.
The 200m along and 20m wide wall sections the village into the upper and the lower
Zoom in the stone village of Cuandixia and you see clearly the black tiles, stone walls and wooden framed houses.
Zoom in the stone village of Cuandixia
Well-preserved courtyards and hutongs around Guangzhou.
Well-preserved courtyards and hutongs around Guangzhou
The narrow stone paved path and ancient houses with revolutionary slogans on the wall.
The narrow stone paved path and ancient houses.
An entrance to a courtyard, now used as a homestay to boost local accommodations and rual tourism.
An entrance to a courtyard, now used as a homestay to boost local accommodations and rual tourism.
Brick walls, red lanterns, yellow sweetcorn cobs.
Brick walls, red lanterns, yellow corns under the sun.
Inside a courtyard houses, you will see the yellow sweetcorn cobs.
Inside a courtyard houses, you will see the yellow sweetcorn cobs
The highest house on the hillside.
The highest house on the hillside.
Inside the courtyard with slabs paved ground and brick walls.
Inside the courtyard with slabs paved ground and brick walls.
Many of the houses in the village have been turned into homestays.
Many of the houses in the village have been turned into homestays.
An exquisite courtyard with a high north room.
An exquisite courtyard with a high north room.
A roof top view of the village
A roof top view of the village
A glimpse of a room in a farmhouse turned guesthouse
A glimpse of a room in a farmhouse turned guesthouse
Locally made shoes for babies known as tiger-headed shoes.
Locally made shoes for babies known as tiger-headed shoes
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:
Walking on the pathways of Colonel By Drive along the Rideau Canal in Ottawa, Canada，I’m really amazed by the peaceful and harmonious scene between man and nature: with clear water, Rideau Canal is sided by the shared cycle and pedestrian pathways and green belts, which is enlivened by people jogging, biking, skating, canoeing, rowing, sightseeing cruise and fishing.
In winter, Rideau Canal will be turned into a skateway, the longest skate rink in the world.The skateway and the network of the recreational pathways of Rideau Canal traverse the capital city of Canada roughly from north to south uniquely linking the green spaces, the urban core, which was created thanks to the vision of Douglas H.Fullerton (Chairman at National Capital Commission 1969-1973).
The initial purpose of the Rideau Canal was totally military, aimed at providing a secure supply and communications route between Montreal and the British naval base in Kingston to deter any American invasions of Canadian territory after the War of 1812, a 32-month military conflict between the United States and Great Britain.
Later the canal once also served a commercial purpose. The Rideau Canal was easier to navigate than the St. Lawrence River because of the series of rapids between Montreal and Kingston before the construction of a system of locks on Saint Lawrence Seaway. As a result, the Rideau Canal became a busy commercial artery from Montreal to the Great Lakes. Now Rideau Canal has long been lost its transportation function, perfectly switched to the recreational purpose.
The original construction of Rideau Canal was mainly supervised by Lieutenant-Colonel John By of the Royal Engineers. Much of the construction work was done by thousands of Irish and French-Canadian labourers.
The building of canal started in 1826, and it took a total of 6 years to complete by 1832. The 202 kilometres of the Rideau Canal incorporate sections of the Rideau and Cataraqui rivers, as well as several lakes, including the Lower, Upper and Big Rideau lakes. It is the oldest continuously operated canal system in North America, and it was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2007.
Rideau Canal alway reminds me of the Grand Canal (also known as the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal), starting from Hangzhou of Zhejiang Province in the Yangtze Delta area of China and ends in Beijing, the capital city of China. The Grand Canal is regarded as one of the two greatest projects in ancient China and the other being the Great Wall of China. It is the longest and oldest canal in the world with a total length of 1794km, 1442k,still navigable and 877km navigable all year round.
Like Rideau Canal, the initial construction of the Grand Canal was also for the military purpose. It dates back to the the 5th century BC when King Fuchai of Wu, ruler of the State of Wu (today’s Suzhou), wanted to conquer the neighboring State of Qi in the north. He ordered a canal be built for shipping ample supplies north. The construction started in 486 BC and completed in three years.
The Grand Canal was completed in Sui Dynasty (581 – 618); prospered in Tang Dynasty (618–906) and Song Dynasty (960–1279); the actual straight canal from Hangzhou to Beijing was completed in Yuan Dynasdty (1206–1368), different from the canal in Sui Dynasty which had linked Luoyang (Capital of Sui Dynasty) to Beijing and Hangzhou in a triangle; cleared and reconstructed in Ming and Qing dynasties ( 1368-1911). The Grand Canal’s construction started in 486 BC and navigated from Hangzhou to Beijing in the year 1293.
The present day’s Grand Canal traverses 4 provinces of Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shandong and Hebei as well as two municipalities of Beijing and Tianjin. The Grand Canal links 5 great water systems of Qiantang River, Yangtze River, Hui River, Yellow River and Hai River. It is the longest and oldest canal in the world with a total length of 1794km, 1442k,still navigable and 877km navigable all year round.
The purposes for the construction of the Grand Canal is multi-fold. 1.Strengthening the central control over the whole country by enhancing the north and south transportation and communications. 2. Further developing the economy in Yangtze Delta Area ( Jiangnan) 3. Culture cultural immersion between the central China and Jiangnan Area. 4. Convenience for carrying the grain from the south to the north.
The Grand Canal is now generally composed of 7 sections including 1) Tonghui Canal 2) North Canal 3) South Canal 4) Lu Canal 5) Mid-Canal 6) Inner Canal and 7) Jiangnan Canal. Except for the north two sections of Tonghui and North canals, all the other 5 sections still play an important role in waterway transportation and culture exchange.
Unfortunately, most part of the Grand Canal in Beijing, or popularly known as Tonghui River ( Tonghui Canal) is not navigable, only serving as sewage works. The recreational network of Rideau Canal sets us a perfect example of how to transfer a “dying canal” into a live and clean waterway to enliven and upgrade the urban life in Beijing.
Today we are happy to see people are getting more aware of the environment protection, pushing Beijing local governments to use all kinds of resources to clear and renovate the waterways from the city center – Shichahai area, the northern tip of the ancient Grand Canal to the Canal in Tongzhou District.
The Grand Canal in Tongzhou has been opened to sightseeing boating and the Shichahai ( Back Lake) has become a mecca and night hangout in the heart of Beijing. But more efforts should be made to transfer the Beijing Grand Canal into a human-nature harmonious waterway, providing the urban residents with spaces for walking, cycling, rowing, cruising.
Now, it is encouraging to learn that with the the great efforts done by experts and enthusiasts along the Grand Canal, the Grand Canal has been crowned both World Culture Heritage and World Natural Heritage in 2016. Rideau Canal got the World Cultural Heritage in 2007.
Sightseeing cruise on Rideau Canal
Sightseeing Cruise on Rideau Canal
Rideau Canal at Sunset
Rideau Canal at Sunset
Love padlocks on the bridge over Rideau Canal
Love padlocks on the bridge over Rideau Canal
The heritage bridge was built in 1882
The heritage bridge was built in 1882
Jogging along the shared cycle and pedestrian pathways
Jogging along the shared cycle and pedestrian pathways
Cycling along the shared cycle and pedestrian pathways
Cycling along the shared cycle and pedestrian pathways
Skating with her dog along the shared cycle and pedestrian pathways
Skating with her dog along the shared cycle and pedestrian pathways
Sunrise over Houhai Lake, one of the three lakes in Shichahai in Beijing, the northern tip water system of the Grand Canal.
Sunrise over Houhai Lake, one of the three lakes in Shichahai, Beijing
Qianhai Lake, one of the three lakes in Shichahai in Beijing, the northern tip water system of the Grand Canal
Qianhai Lake, Sunrise over Houhai Lake, one of the three lakes in Shichahai, Beijing
Fishing at Qianhai Lake
Fishing at Qianhai Lake, Beijing
Boating on Tongzhi Grand Canal in Beijing.
Boating on Tongzhou Grand Canal in Beijing
The Grand Canal ends at Gongchen Bridge over the Grand Canal in Hangzhou.
Gongchen Bridge over Grand Canal, Hangzhou
Taking a picture of the bridge and the canal, Hangzhou
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:
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