Zhihua Temple may be hidden deep in the hutongs, but it is by no means unknown. Every March and April, Zhihua Temple becomes one of Beijing’s most beautiful floral spots. Pear blossoms, purple lilacs, crabapple flowers... the small courtyard is covered in petals of every color and filled with fragrance. Flower lovers follow the scent here and become immersed in the atmosphere where ancient architecture and elegant floral aromas complement one another.
Further Reading: [Beijing Free Travel Guide] Must-Visit Attractions, Accommodation, Food, Transportation, and Costs in Beijing
About Visiting Zhihua Temple
✅️Ticket Booking:Trip
Ticket: 20 RMB
Address: No. 5 Lumicang Hutong, Dongcheng District, Beijing
Opening Hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 9:00–17:00 (closed on Mondays, except public holidays)
Although I also love the beauty of ancient architecture intertwined with fragrant flowers, I prefer a quieter atmosphere. So I avoided the spring peak season and finally completed my visit to Zhihua Temple on a scorching summer day of 35°C.
Zhihua Temple is located in Lumicang Hutong, Dongcheng District. It was first built in the eighth year of the Zhengtong reign of the Ming Dynasty (1443) and was originally the family temple of Wang Zhen, an eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial. During the reign of Emperor Yingzong of Ming, Wang Zhen, as a favored courtier of the emperor, monopolized court power and possessed enormous wealth. The family temple he built was lavish, grand, and extravagant, with many elements exceeding proper ritual standards. Because he was favored by the emperor, and because Wang Zhen built the temple in the name of gratitude for imperial grace, Emperor Yingzong granted it the name “Bao’en Zhihua Chan Temple.” At the time of its construction, it covered more than 20,000 square meters and was divided into eastern, central, and western sections. It was once one of the most popular temples for worship in the eastern part of Beijing’s imperial city.
By the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, Wang Zhen’s name had been erased from the stone stele at Zhihua Temple, severing its subtle connection with the imperial court. From then on, it gradually faded from public attention. Yet precisely because it was neglected by the emperor, Zhihua Temple escaped Qianlong’s alterations to ancient buildings and preserved its Ming Dynasty architectural style intact. Today’s Zhihua Temple is the best-preserved and largest Ming Dynasty wooden architectural complex in Beijing.
Inside the mountain gate of Zhihua Temple stand, in order, the Bell and Drum Towers, Zhihua Gate, Zhihua Hall, and the side halls on the east and west: Dazhi Hall and Cang Hall. In addition, there are buildings such as Rulai Hall. These ancient structures, weathered by more than 500 years of history, still largely preserve their original appearance today.
It is worth mentioning that although Zhihua Temple is not large in scale, it has three uniquely valuable treasures: its ancient architectural complex, its precious sutra cabinet, and its distinctive Beijing Buddhist music.
Cang Hall, the west side hall, is one of the highlights of Zhihua Temple. Facing east, it gets its name from the only Ming Dynasty octagonal rotating sutra cabinet in Beijing, which stands in the center of the hall. Inside Cang Hall are two national-treasure-level relics: the caisson ceiling and the rotating sutra cabinet. On the plaque above the door reading “Cang Hall,” the character “藏” is missing some strokes on the left, while the character “殿” has an extra dot in the middle on the right. It is said this was done intentionally, because Buddhism teaches “to gain, one must first give up.”
The rotating sutra cabinet is a revolving cabinet used to store Buddhist scriptures, symbolizing the constant turning of the Dharma wheel in Buddhism. The cabinet stands over 4 meters tall and is made of golden nanmu wood. Its exterior is shaped like an octagonal prism and consists of three parts: the base, the scripture cabinet, and the top. Each side of the cabinet has 9 rows and 5 columns of drawers, and the front of each drawer is carved with a Buddhist niche containing a relief image of Shakyamuni.
At the top of the rotating sutra cabinet, the finely carved Garuda, dragon maiden, whale, as well as the young boys’ mounts, lion king, and elephant king displayed on the corner pillars together form the spectacular imagery of the Six Ornaments.
Vairocana Buddha is placed on top of the rotating sutra cabinet, seated on a Chinese-style lotus pedestal and forming the “wisdom fist mudra.” With a high ushnisha, broad shoulders, and a full face, the statue displays the artistic characteristics of imperial Buddhist sculpture from the Yongle and Xuande periods of the Ming Dynasty.
The white marble Sumeru base of the rotating sutra cabinet is also exquisitely carved. From bottom to top, the decorative patterns include ruyi cloud scrolls, brilliant jewels, scrolling grass patterns, downward lotus petals, two dragons playing with a pearl, upward lotus petals, more scrolling grass patterns, and lotus scrolls supporting the Eight Treasures, symbolizing high status in the Ming Dynasty.
In Beijing, only three rotating sutra cabinets still survive today, located respectively in Yonghe Temple, the Summer Palace, and Zhihua Temple. Among them, the one at Zhihua Temple is the oldest, dating from the Ming Dynasty, while those at Yonghe Temple and the Summer Palace were made in the Qing Dynasty.
Another treasure in Cang Hall is the caisson ceiling above the rotating sutra cabinet. Zhihua Temple originally had three caisson ceilings, installed in Cang Hall, Zhihua Hall, and the Ten Thousand Buddhas Pavilion. Today, the caisson ceiling originally from Zhihua Hall is housed in the Philadelphia Museum of Art in the United States, while the one originally from the Ten Thousand Buddhas Pavilion is housed in the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in the United States. When these two priceless treasures were taken away, the temple abbot, Monk Puyuan, received only 800 silver dollars. The ceiling panels surrounding the caissons were taken away with them as well.
A caisson ceiling is a unique form of decoration in ancient Chinese architecture. It is usually made in the shape of an upward-rising well and is often placed above the most important areas in palaces and temples, such as thrones and Buddhist altars, symbolizing the loftiness of the heavens. Caisson ceilings are usually decorated with painted patterns and relief carvings. Creating a “well” at the highest point of a hall or pavilion and decorating it with aquatic plants such as lotus, water chestnut, and other water motifs was meant to suppress fire demons and protect the building from fire.
The only remaining caisson ceiling at Zhihua Temple is directly above the rotating sutra cabinet. It is round above and square below, exquisitely crafted, with five tiers of bracket sets forming the “well opening.” The painted mandala consists of seed syllables representing the Five Direction Buddhas, the Four Buddha Mothers, and the Four Heavenly Kings, with each Sanskrit character representing a Buddha.
The central Sanskrit character represents Vairocana Buddha, echoing the seated Vairocana Buddha above the rotating sutra cabinet. There is also a popular story claiming that the reason the American collector Sickman did not take the caisson ceiling above the rotating sutra cabinet was because he feared the “spiritual power” of the cabinet.
Every day at 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., musician-monks perform Beijing Buddhist music inside Zhihua Hall. This music was introduced to Zhihua Temple from the imperial court and has continued uninterrupted for more than 560 years. As traditional music once popular in the Beijing region during the Ming and Qing dynasties, its melodies are ethereal, mysterious, simple, and elegant. It still preserves traces of Tang and Song musical traditions and is known as a “living fossil of ancient Chinese music.” In 2006, it was included in the first batch of China’s national intangible cultural heritage list.
A Ming Dynasty mural inside Zhihua Hall, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva and the Ten Kings of the Underworld, is also well worth seeing. The mural is about 3 meters high and 4.67 meters wide.
The entire painting contains many figures, with a rigorous composition, brilliant colors, and smooth lines. Some say this mural was moved here from another temple. At the center is Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, wearing a floral crown and a kasaya robe, adorned with jeweled ornaments all over his body. Six figures stand on each side of the Bodhisattva. On the left, the monk in kasaya is Monk Daoming; on the right, corresponding to Monk Daoming, is Elder Min. The remaining ten figures on both sides are the Ten Kings of the Underworld.
Rulai Hall and the Ten Thousand Buddhas Pavilion form a two-story building with a black glazed-tile hip roof, making it the tallest structure in Zhihua Temple. The Ten Thousand Buddhas Pavilion has two levels: the first floor is Rulai Hall, the largest building in the temple by floor area; the second floor is the Ten Thousand Buddhas Pavilion, which is smaller, creating a unique layout that combines a hall and pavilion in one structure.
In front of the hall stands a cast-iron incense burner engraved with words including “the twenty-eighth year of the Wanli reign of the Great Ming.” Its decorative patterns are exquisite and represent the highest level of cast-iron craftsmanship of the time.
At the center of Rulai Hall is a wooden octagonal Sumeru pedestal, on which the main statue of Shakyamuni Buddha is enshrined.
The face of the Tathagata Buddha is square yet rounded, with a topknot ushnisha and spiral-style hair. His eyes are large, nose high, face full, forehead broad, cheeks rounded, and expression dignified and compassionate. The upper body is bare with a shawl draped over the shoulders. His expression is peaceful, posture natural, and form beautifully modeled.
Standing on either side are Brahma and Indra. This arrangement of one Buddha accompanied by two devas can only be seen at Zhihua Temple.
The two attendant statues both stand on wooden Sumeru pedestals. Their clothing is painted in a delicate meticulous style, with raised-paste gilding and auspicious animal motifs such as dragons, phoenixes, lions, and qilin. Their bodies are full and solid, the lines are simple and flowing, and the folds of the garments turn naturally, making them exceptionally beautiful.
The upper walls inside the hall are covered with Buddhist niches. They originally housed more than 9,000 small Buddha statues, which is why it is also called the “Ten Thousand Buddhas Pavilion.” Visitors can no longer go upstairs to view it today.
If you visit Zhihua Temple, don’t miss the free volunteer guided tours offered every day. The explanations are extremely detailed and so engaging that you’ll feel you can never hear enough. Before you know it, the whole morning will have passed while you listen and look around.
Today, Zhihua Temple has nearly 600 years of history. High-rises and traffic now surround it, yet it remains quietly guarded deep in the hutongs, undisturbed. Looking out from the temple’s low red walls, the surreal flowing design of Galaxy SOHO forms a sharp contrast with the ancient temple. It feels as though the passage of time has been stopped outside the wall. No matter how noisy the world outside may be, this place remains forever peaceful, with only ancient music drifting gently through the air.
“Great seclusion lies hidden in the city”—that is exactly Beijing’s Zhihua Temple.
