Explore the "Magic Temple" in Western Beijing - Baipu Temple

There is such a temple in Mentougou District, Beijing. The adjectives used to describe it on the Internet are often "magic", "fantasy", "fantasy", "monster phobia", etc. This is the White Waterfall Temple known as the "Devil Temple".

Baipu Temple is located deep in the mountains of Yanchi Town, Mentougou District, 46 kilometers away from the Forbidden City in a straight line. The area where Baipu Temple is located is about 526 meters above sea level and is surrounded by the Taihang Mountains with an altitude of about 7-800 meters. Most of the temple's architectural structures are hidden in a valley at the foot of the mountains.

Baipu Temple was built in the Liao Dynasty and has a history of more than 900 years. However, most of the buildings in the temple today were built in the past twenty years or so, so strictly speaking, Baipu Temple is a "new temple" with a history of 900 years.

↑The location of Baipu Temple (screenshot from: Google Earth)

↑Situation of the mountains around Baipu Temple (screenshot from: Google Earth)

↑The western slanting sunlight illuminates the buildings on the surrounding mountains

After entering the temple, the first wonder you see is the Chariot Temple and a huge statue of the Chariot God. The original name of the Car God is Horse-headed Guanyin, which is a symbol of protecting people's safety on the road. Interestingly, the car God is facing the temple's internal parking lot.

Because the mountain roads near Yanchi Town are flat and have many ups and downs, and the auspicious meaning of the God of Cars, this is also a holy place for many motorcycle riders and cyclists.

↑The golden statue of the God of Cars in the sun

↑Take a photo with the car god in front of the car temple (appearance: Simon) ‍

Walking deeper from the parking lot guarded by the car god, passing by a nine-dragon wall (actually nine lions), you come to the most famous wonder of Baipu Temple: Yunlei Pavilion.

This Yunlei Pavilion is built on a pool, with a big bell placed in the middle. Its sculpture is very special. There is a giant dragon in green, red, yellow, blue and black representing the five elements coiled around it. There are also two phoenixes surrounding it on the left and right, which all mean good luck.

There is a golden child statue directly above, which reproduces the scene when Buddha Sakyamuni was born, pointing one finger to the sky and the other to the earth.

This place is also a place where many friends come to take photos and check in. Just take a photo here and it will be a blockbuster.

↑Full view of Yunlei Pavilion (photo taken with mobile phone)

↑Taking a bicycle to check in as a souvenir (photo taken with mobile phone)

↑Details of the statue of Gautama Buddha

↑Phoenix statue and the four-sided Avalokitesvara statue behind‍

After walking through the Yunlei Pavilion and climbing up the stairs, you came to the mountain gate of Baipu Temple. There are also two tall sculptures of the two generals Hengha on both sides of the mountain gate.

Behind the mountain gate is the Mahavira Hall, where the Great Sun Tathagata Buddha is enshrined. In this area, you can also find the only preserved monument of Baipu Temple, a Liao Dynasty stupa.

The most attractive thing in this area is the four-sided Bodhisattva statues directly above, which are Manjushri Bodhisattva representing wisdom, Samantabhadra Bodhisattva representing virtue, Guanyin Bodhisattva representing great kindness and compassion, and Ksitigarbha representing great wishes. Buddha.

↑Four-sided Bodhisattva statue

↑The statue of Chen Qi, one of the two generals guarding the mountain gate

Like temples in other places, although it is located deep in the mountains, Baipu Temple also has cats.

↑This coat color should be called Xueli Tuoqiang

↑"Cold drinks"

It was close to 7 pm when the visit ended. When I rode my bicycle back, I saw the magnificent sunset in the mountains more than 500 meters above sea level.

↑Distant mountains and sunset

↑The sunset goes better with a bicycle (appearance: Simon)

1. Baipu Temple is located in a remote area and public transportation is extremely inconvenient. It is recommended to drive/cycle there.

2. Due to inconvenient transportation, the number of tourists in Baipu Temple is small, and the tour process is very pleasant.

3. Baipu Temple is very friendly to bicycles and can be pushed to the bottom of Yunlei Pavilion. The last section of the road to Baipu Temple has a steep slope, with an average slope of about 9%-12%, and the road conditions are not good + there are cliffs. Do not put rim brake bicycles on the slope easily, safety first.

4. Baipu Temple is located deep in the mountains. There are gravel and rocks falling on both sides of the road at any time, as well as many "spicy" caterpillars. Please pay attention to safety.

↑Pelling granite on the roadside

↑A grass lizard found on the roadside‍

PS: After visiting the Baipu Temple, it reminded me of the Mianyang Shengshui Temple I had visited in Mianyang, Sichuan. It also gave people a very magical feeling. I have the opportunity to update it into a tweet to share with everyone✌‍