Badachu Park in Beijing
Chinese Name: 八大处公园
English Name: Badachu Park in Beijing
Type: Temple, Buddhism culture & old temple
Best Time: All Year Around
Recommended Visiting Hours: 1-3 hour
Opening Hours: 06:00~18:00 Winter, 18:30 Spring and Autumn, 19:00 Summer
Ticket: 10 RMB (January 1-December 31, Monday-Sunday)
Location: The Badachu is located at the southern foot of Beijing's famous Xishan scenic spot, 16 kilometers from the city center.
Why is Badachu Park So Special?
Located in the northwest suburb of Beijing, Badachu Park is a famous scenic spot with a long history, ancient temples and pleasant scenery. It is also called the Eight Relics Park because it has eight Buddhist temples and the Cuiwei, Pingpo and Lushi Hills in the park, Tourists can stroll from one temple to another to enjoy beautiful scenery, pavilions and rare ancient trees.
Overview of Badachu Park
The Eight Great Temples, known as Badachu (八大处公园), is located within Badachu Park, a national AAAA-level tourist attraction and a premium park in Beijing. Nestled at the southern foothills of the Xishan Scenic Area, it is surrounded by the Taihang Mountain range, including Cuiwei Mountain (翠微山), Pingpo Mountain (平坡山), and Lushi Mountain (庐师山). The park spans approximately 332 hectares, with its highest peak reaching an altitude of 464 meters. It is renowned for its well-preserved ancient architecture, comprising eight Buddhist temples, and is celebrated for its natural beauty encapsulated in the “Twelve Sceneries.” Ancient scholars have likened the landscape to “three mountains like fine houses, eight temples like antique items, and twelve sceneries like an outdoor garden.” It is noted that “the beauty of Xiangshan (香山) is man-made, while the beauty of Badachu is natural, surpassing even the many wonders of the Xishan.”
Badachu Park boasts a vegetation coverage rate of 97.4%. The winters are warm and breezy, while summers are cool and pleasant. The eight ancient temples, built during the Tang, Song, Yuan, and Ming dynasties, have been well-preserved through various renovations over the centuries. These temples, alongside the renowned “Twelve Sceneries,” form the core tourism resources and scenic landscapes of Badachu.
The Eight Temples of Badachu
The Eight Great Temples include:
- Chang’an Temple (长安寺)
- Lingguang Temple (灵光寺)
- Sanshan An (三山庵)
- Dabei Temple (大悲寺)
- Longquan An (龙泉庵)
- Xiangjie Temple (香界寺)
- Baizhu Cave (宝珠洞)
- Zhengguo Temple (证果寺)
These temples are located in the western suburbs of Beijing, outside the Fifth Ring Road. They have a rich history and are popular pilgrimage sites. All except Chang’an Temple are currently open to the public.
Eight Temples
The eight Buddhist temples are the precious antiques of the park. They are Chang’an Temple, Lingguang Temple, Sanshan Nunnery, Dabei Temple, Longquan Nunnery, Xiangjie Temple, Baozhu Temple, and Zhengguo Temple. Apart from Zhengguo Temple, they all sit on Cuiwei Hill. Zhengguo Temple is the oldest and is situated on Lushi Hill, far from other temples.
Follow the route below, you will visit all temples:
Lingguang Temple – Sanshan Nunnery – China’s Largest Inkstone – Dabei Temple – Longquan Nunnery – glacial erratic boulder – Xiangjie Temple – Baozhu Temple – Chinese Seal Valley – Red Leaves Admiration Zone – stone sculptures at Moya Valley – Zhengguo Temple
- Chang’an Temple, literally “Eternal Peace Temple”, is located about 0.6 miles (1 kilometer) south of the ticketing center. It was once a famous temple with 500 arhats, but it was severely damaged in the 1960s. Therefore, it is closed to tourists.
- Lingguang Temple was originally built in Tang Dynasty (618-907). There are three courtyards. Here is a statue of Sakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism, weighing 3.3 tons. Lingguang temple is famous for its magnificent seven-story pagoda, beautiful golden fish pond with brocade carp swimming happily, heart sutra wall and ocean’s wall. Sakyamuni’s tooth remains are preserved in the temple, making it a Buddhist temple.
- Three Mountains buddhist nun is located between the three mountains, hence its name, which literally means “three mountains”. One place you can’t miss in Sanshan buddhist nun is the largest inkstone in China. It is 38 feet (11.8 meters) long, 10 feet (3.18 meters) wide and weighs about 45 tons. Fifty-six lifelike dragons, nine long-lived turtles, the designs of Chinese territory, the sun and the moon are ingeniously carved in large proportions.
- Dabei Temple, which means Daci Temple, is famous for the 18 lifelike arhats on the raft that were built by famous sculptor Liu Yuan in Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368). These statues are made of fine sandalwood powder, emitting a faint fragrance. There are also two towering gingko trees, which have a history of more than 800 years. The inscription on the stele on the door was written by Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).
- Longquan buddhist nun is located to the west of Dabei Temple and is famous for its clear spring that never dries up.
- Xiang Jie Temple is the largest in badachu park, with five courtyards. It was once one of the temporary residences of Emperor Kangxi and Emperor Ganlong of the Qing Dynasty. On your way to the temple of Xiang Jie, you will encounter a glacier-like irregular boulder, which was formed one or two million years ago.
- Zhu Bao Temple, whose name Zhu Bao means “precious pearl”, has a cave behind its guanyin temple with pebbles on the wall like shining pearls. This temple is located at the top of Pingpo mountain and was built in 1780 during the Ganlong years. People can find many inscriptions left by the emperor. The cable car can take tourists from Longquan Temple to the temple in 15 minutes.
- Zheng Guo Temple is located on Lushi Mountain, far from the other seven temples. It is the oldest temple with a history of more than 1200 years. It is said that Lu used to be a monk in the temple.
Reputation
Badachu park is well-known at home and abroad for its two Lingguang temples dedicated to the rare tooth relic of Sakyamuni Buddha. In recent years, the wall of Prajnaparamita Heart Sutra, the 500 arhat relief sculpture and the tooth relic of Buddha have formed a complete integration of Buddhism and Buddhism.
The ancient and solemn temple gardens are very quiet and beautiful, and there are many gingko trees and maple trees, etc. It is very good to come here every autumn to take a walk, view the scenery and worship Buddha on the mountain.
How to Get There
- Take a bus:
Take bus 347, 389, 598, 958 or 972 and get off at Badachu Station. - Take the subway:
Take subway line 1 to pingguoyuan station, take exit d in the northeast, then take bus 972 to the eight stops at the beimen bus station on pingguoyuan 3rd street.
Or you can get off at Bajiaolou amusement park subway station and walk east to jingyuan lukou east station to take bus 598. Or go west to jingyuan lukou west station and take bus 958.
Visiting Information
Opening Hours: 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM
Contact Number: 010-88964661
Ticket Inquiries: 010-88961812
Tickets can be purchased online (via Meituan) and visitors must present a QR code to enter the park.
Ticket Prices:
- Adult Ticket: 10 CNY.
- Discount Ticket: 5 CNY.
Free and Discount Ticket Policies:
- Retired personnel, active and retired military members, seniors over 60 (with Beijing Tong – Elderly Assistance Card), and people with disabilities can enter for free; children under 1.2 meters are also free.
- Students (excluding adult education and postgraduates) can purchase discount tickets with valid student IDs.
- Seniors over 60 from other regions can use discount tickets with valid ID.
Annual and Monthly Ticket Policies:
- Monthly tickets are sold from the 28th of each month to the 5th of the following month, priced at 40 CNY each. Visitors must present a 2-inch (5cm*3.5cm) recent photo without a head covering.
- Annual tickets are available in December for 200 CNY each, requiring the same photo.
- Tickets are not valid during national holidays such as the Spring Festival, May Day, and National Day, as well as during short holidays defined by national regulations.
- Tickets will not be extended or refunded due to force majeure events such as epidemics or natural disasters.
