In the Xishan area, Yunju Temple and Shidu also attract tourists from home and abroad, allowing people to appreciate the charming style of this ancient city of Beijing from the aspects of natural landscape and human history.
Yunju Temple is located in Shuitou Village, Nanshanngle Township, southwest of Fangshan District, Beijing, less than 10 kilometers south of the Juma River. Shangfangshan Yunshui Cave is located about 10 kilometers northeast of Yunju Temple and about 75 kilometers away from Beijing city.
Yunju Temple is located in Shijing Mountain. The temple was built during the Daye period of the Sui Dynasty. It is also known as the Western Region Temple and is also a famous Buddhist holy place in history. The name of Yunju Temple was first seen in the stone carvings in the second year of Tang Zongzhang (669). The temple gate faces east and faces west. The original temple was very large, with five courtyards and six palaces. It has more than 300 palaces and more than 800 monks' rooms. It is one of the largest temples in North China. The Heavenly King's Hall is the first of the six halls, followed by Pilu Hall, Sakyamuni Hall, Chantan Hall, Medicine Master Hall and Maitreya Hall. On the west side of these halls are auxiliary buildings such as the monk's room, Manjusri Hall, and the abbot's courtyard. The Dabei Hall, the Dharma Hall and the Sutra Pavilion together constitute the largest hall in the temple. The six-entry hall is built according to the mountain, and the Dabei Hall is the highest point of the temple. Throughout the whole temple, the layout is rigorous. The temple is located on the mountain, and the mountain supports the majesty of the temple. It is very spectacular. However, in the 1930s, the entire temple was reduced to ruins under Japanese imperialist artillery fire, and the demolished tower bricks were used to build bunkers. The fact that Yunju Temple was destroyed became physical evidence of the history of Japan's war of aggression against China. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the government carried out comprehensive investigation, excavation, sorting and research on the Yunju Temple and Shijing Mountain Stone Scriptures. By the 1980s, a new Stone Scripture Exhibition Room and Scripture Banquet were built. In 1984, the Beijing Municipal Government and the Fangshan District Government decided to raise funds to repair and rebuild this famous temple. What you see now when you go to Yunju Temple is the appearance of Yunju Temple after reconstruction.
Yunju Temple has a long history and many cultural relics. Although it has experienced years of erosion and ravages of war, the existing remains and buildings are still amazed by the world. The stone sutra boards, ancient pagodas and Buddha relics are It is called the "three wonders" of Yunju Temple.
The creation and spread of the stone sutra tablets of Yunju Temple are inseparable from the monk Jingwan. As early as the Sui Dynasty, Huisi, the master of Monk Jingwan, saw that Buddhism had experienced several disasters in China, resulting in the failure of many Buddhist scriptures to be preserved. For this reason, he vowed to collect the Buddhist scriptures in the form of stone carvings to prevent them from being "difficult" again. Jingwan was influenced by her master, inherited her master's will, and put it into action. He dug the Leiyin Cave in Shijing Mountain and carved the stone scriptures. Jingwan passed away in the 13th year of Zhenguan in the Tang Dynasty (639), and was followed by his disciples Xuandao, Sengyi, Huixian, Xuanfa and others. In more than 1100 years from the Sui Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, the total number of engraved scriptures reached 14278 pieces and 3472 volumes. , 1122 parts, nearly 17 million words. After the stone scriptures were carved, the sutra tablets were hidden in the scripture storage cave in Shijing Mountain and the scripture storage cave under the south tower of Yunju Temple. These warp boards are more than 1 meter long, half a meter wide and about 10 centimeters thick. The longest one is more than 2 meters and the shortest one is 70 centimeters.
The Buddhist sutras engraved on the stone sutra tablets of Yunju Temple mainly include: Huayan Sutra, Lotus Sutra, Nirvana Sutra, Vimalakia Sutra, Mahaprajna Sutra, Mahaprajna Sutra", "Victorian King Prajna Sutra", "Grand Treasure Accumulation Sutra", "Great Collection Sutra", "Right Dharma Mindfulness Sutra", "Yogagashi Sutra", "Great Wisdom Sutra", "Xianyang Shengjiao" "On", "On Consciousness-Only Theory", etc. It is found that the 146 stone scriptures embedded in the four walls of Leiyin Cave were made by Jingwan. Most of the scriptures on the sutra tablets are written horizontally, but sometimes they are written vertically. The stone sutra tablets stored in Yunju Temple are not only precious materials for studying calligraphy and sculpture art, but also important Buddhist documents for studying the history of Buddhism (see photos 9 and 10).
The ancient pagoda of Yunju Temple: There are 15 ancient pagodas in the original temple and Shijing Mountain, and there are 7 ancient pagodas in the Tang Dynasty alone. The most majestic ancient pagoda is located in the north courtyard of the temple. It was built in the Liao Dynasty and is more than 30 meters high. It is divided into upper and lower parts. The lower part is octagonal, surrounded by arches, false windows, four eaves and brackets, and Buddhist niches are embossed on it; the upper part is conical, in the shape of a nine-fold phase wheel, and the top is in the shape of a pearl. This pagoda was originally called the Relic Pagoda, also known as the Luohan Pagoda. There is a stone tower about 3 meters high in each corner of the Liao Pagoda, which was built in the Tang Dynasty.
This five-tower form is an early form of the Vajra Throne Pagoda (as can be seen in the Vajra Throne Pagoda in Xiangshan Biyun Temple). In addition, the stupa built for the monk Jingwan in the Liao Dynasty and the Jinxian Princess Pagoda built in the Tang Dynasty all reflect the architectural style and sculpture art of the Tang and Liao dynasties.
Buddha relics: In 1981, when the Leiyin Cave of Yunju Temple was being renovated, a cave was discovered underground behind the original Buddha seat, which contained a set of mountain stones, silver and jade. Among them was a Buddha There are two relics, which are meat relics. They are scarlet red and very precious.
Of course, what Yunju Temple shows us is more than just the above. Others include ancient steles, stone Buddha statues in Leiyin Cave, etc., which are all very precious. It is not without reason that Yunju Temple is known as "Dunhuang of Beijing".
Shidu Scenic Area: 15 kilometers west of Yunju Temple is Shidu, a famous scenic area located at the southern end of the Xishan area.
Shidu is known as the Little Guilin in the North. It is the only forest valley scenic spot in North China characterized by karst landforms. It is located in the middle and upper reaches of the Juma River in the southwest of Fangshan District, more than 80 kilometers away from downtown Beijing. The Juma River flows through the scenic spot from west to east, and the tourist area is more than 15 kilometers long. Shidu Scenic Area starts from Qianhekou in the east, Dashadi in the west, Shiren Peak in the north, and Bijia Mountain in the south, with an area of ??nearly 50 kilometers. 20 kilometers to the east is Yesanpo Scenic Area.
The Juma River must pass through ten ferries from Zhangfang to Shidu, so it is called "Shidu". In 1985, Shidu Scenic Area was rated as the eighth of the sixteen scenic spots in Beijing. There are four routes to choose from when visiting here: the eastern route is Liudu Bathing Beach, Stalagmite Peak, Qianchi Window, Dangerous Peak Broken Wall, Chaohui Mountain, and Qianhekou; the southern route is Frog Mouth Rock, Tongtian Cave, and Wangxiu Pavilion. , Bijia Mountain; the west line is Tashan Fairy Pool, Shimen Bangchui Rock, Xiong Mountain, and Wuzhishan; the north line is Wangfo Terrace, Bat Mountain, Zhuangshi Rock, and Shiren Peak.
There are four scenic spots that must be visited when traveling to Shidu, namely: Longshan, Qifeng, Liudu, and Xianchi. Shidu Scenic Area is famous for its beautiful peaks and beautiful water, with beautiful scenery everywhere and picturesque scenery throughout the four seasons. Strange peaks, strange rocks, clear water, and wild flowers are everywhere. Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty called Shidu "Ten Miles of Qiong Yao" (see photo 11).