Dongyue Temple

China is the home of Daoism (Taosim) so one would think that it would be easy to find Daoist temples in China. Unfortunately it is not. That is why the Dongyue Temple is such a find. Located 500 meters east of the Chaoyangmen subway station, the temple is a bit farther afoot than many of the sites in Beijing but it is easy to get to by subway. Built in 1319 at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, it has been altered and changed often over the centuries. Until recently it was used to house locals and a school was even run on its grounds. But thanks to an expensive refurbishing it is now back to its original purpose as a Daoist temple (albeit with many more foreign tourists coming through its doors). The temple is the largest Zhengyi Daoist Temple in northern China.

On the south side of the temple gate stands the last remaining color glazed arch (peifang) in Beijing. It was built in 1607 but now is divided from the temple by a large street.

The temple once housed more than 3,000 statues, of which about 1,000 still remain. The Yude Hall, first finished in 1481, now displays the most valuable statues including: the God of Heaven, God of Earth and the God of Water. One of the most interesting aspects of the temple is its departments of hell; Department of Life and Death, Department of Wandering Ghosts, and the Department of 15 kinds of violent death. The temple is full of imagery that is strikingly different from other temples in the city.

Of the more than 90 stone tablets still remaining in the temple, including one written in 1329 by Zhao Mengfu, one of the “Four Calligraphers” of the Yuan dynasty. The entire temple has adequate signs in English and is well worth the visit for those in the area. It is true that the refit of the temple seems more about tourism than devotion but it is not the only temple in the city suffering from this malaise and it has things that you won't find anywhere else.

The temple is a nice detour for those heading out this way to see the central business district of Beijing. Chaoyang district has some of the most modern and interesting skyscrapers in the world going up (look for the CCTV tower). Although the buildings are spaced out such that it is not a great walk, it is worth doing if you want to see the Beijing of tomorrow or just love modern architecture.