Tanzhe Buddhist Temple, Beijing
The Tanzhe Temple (潭柘寺; lit. “Temple of Pool and Zhe Tree”) is a Buddhist temple situated at the foot of Tanzhe Mountain near China National Highway 108 in Tanzhesi Town (Tanzhesizhen), Mentougou District in western Beijing.
It is the oldest temple recorded in Beijing.
Tanzhe Temple was first built in the first year of Yongjia Period (307) of Emperor Huai (晋怀帝) of the Western Jin Dynasty (265-316), and was first called Jiafu Temple (嘉福寺).
The area of the entire temple is 6.8 hectares, and its arrangement of halls is akin to that found in the Ming and Qing dynasties.
It was later renamed Xiuyun Temple (岫云寺) by Kangxi Emperor (1662-1772) in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). But since there was a dragon pool behind the temple and mulberry trees in the mountain, so people always call it “Tanzhe Temple”.
For the reason that it was first built earlier than Beijing City, so there is a saying that “there comes first the Tanzhe Temple, then the Beijing City” (先有潭柘寺，后有北京城).
Video Source: Tanzhe Buddhist Temple, Beijing from taovid.com
