Beijing - Temple of the Consecrated Altar Jietai Si

This temple, situated 35km/22mi to the west of Beijing at the foot of the Ma'anshan Mountain, dates from 622. However, nearly all the buildings were reconstructed during the Qing period (1644-1911). The stone altar in the main hall was made during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644). In the 11th C the monk Fachun lived here; his urn is kept today in one of the two pagodas on the mountain slope. South Chinese influence can be detected in the temple.

The main hall of the complex is the Daxiong Baodian, behind which stands the Pavilion of the Thousand Buddhas (Qianfo Ge) with innumerable Buddha statuettes on its walls. Consecration of monks used to take place here on the three-story white stone terrace.

The steles in front of the Mingwang Hall are among the oldest monuments in the complex; they date from the Liao period (907-1125) and the Yuan period (1271-1368). The complex owes its fame in particular to the five century-pines, which all bear their own name; the pagoda pine, the pine of the reclining dragon, the shaking pine (when a branch is touched the whole tree shakes), the obliging pine and the nine-dragon pine.