The Eight Great Places refer to Chang'an Temple, Lingguang Temple, Sanshan Temple, Dabei Temple, Longquan Temple, Xiangjie Temple, Baozhu Cave and Zhengguo Temple respectively. Located outside the fifth ring road in the western suburbs of Beijing, the eight temples have a long history and are popular with the public. Except for Chang'an Temple, which is temporarily closed, the other seven are open to the public.

Chang'an Temple

Chang'an Temple is the first temple of the Badachu, also known as Shan Ying Temple and Shan Ying Chang'an Zen Forest. It was first built in the 17th year of Hongzhi era in Ming Dynasty. Later, it was rebuilt twice in the 16th year of Shunzhi era in Qing Dynasty and the 10th year of Kangxi era in Qing Dynasty. The temple has become a famous temple among all the temples in the West Mountain area in the Ming and Qing dynasties.

After 500 years, the Ancient Chang'an Temple still maintains the architectural pattern of the past. The temple faces east and has two quadrangles. There are three pillars in the main hall, followed by the Garan Hall, the Hall of the Three Buddhas and the Hall of the Goddess of Mercy from east to west. There are thirty supporting halls, located on both sides of the main hall. The layout is rigorous and harmonious, and the architecture is refined and magnificent. It has the legacy of Ming Dynasty architectural features, and is a model of Qing Dynasty architecture.

The open space in the Chang'an Temple used to be an orchard, but now it has been replaced by rare flowers and trees such as Bauhinia, Zwei and Magnolia. During the flowering season, the scene of hundreds flowers blooming often makes people linger. There are two strange pines in front of the Hall of the Three Buddhas, which are said to be the lead pines of the Yuan Dynasty and have the reputation of "Pine Tree Goddess". (Chang'an Temple is still under repair and not open to the public.)

Lingguang Temple

Lingguang Temple is the second monastery of the Badachu. It was founded during the Dali period of the Tang Dynasty, more than 1300 years ago. In 1900 AD, Lingguang Temple was completely destroyed by the artillery fire of the Eight-Power Allied Forces. It took 23 years of reconstruction to regenerate. The reconstructed Lingguang Temple faces north and south, with a vertical layout. The southern part is the Great Compassion Courtyard and the Golden Fish Pond Courtyard, while the northern part is the Abbot's Courtyard, the Pagoda Courtyard, the Jushi Courtyard and the Mahamudra Hall.

After several times of renovation and expansion, Lingguang Temple is now an attractive sight. The new temple faces southeast and towers above dozens of stone steps.

Out of the back door of the mountain gate hall is the pagoda courtyard. Surrounded by pines and cypresses, a majestic and magnificent pagoda stands tall, which is the Buddha's Tooth Relic Pagoda. This pagoda is a seven-story pavilion, the ground floor is the monument room, and the second floor is the Buddha's tooth relic hall. In front of the carved and painted screen, a vajra throne is set up, on which a relic of Buddha's spiritual tooth is enshrined in a pure gold seven treasures golden pagoda. On top of the offering case are precious gifts from senior monks and secular people. On the fifth floor is a pavilion where various scriptures and Dharma vessels are kept.

Sanshan Temple

Sanshan Temple is the third temple in the Badachu. Founded in the third year of the Tiande era in Jin Dynasty, it is more than 900 years old. Facing northeast, it is a quadrangular courtyard with exquisite layout and beautiful construction. The hall of the mountain gate is three open rooms, with a corner door on each side. The main hall has five pillars and is equipped with two ear rooms. The two supporting halls located on the both sides of the main hall.

Outside the East Hall there is an open space with its back door connected. Here the terrain is open, the view is wide. Looking into the distance, Yuquan Mountain Tower, Kunming Lake, the Forbidden City Building can be seen in the background. Since ancient times, many writers and scholars have left countless poems and scrolls for the poetic and pictorial scenery of the temple. For example, the Ming Dynasty's Guanliu Picture, Guanquan Picture and Guanyue Picture.

Dabeiji Temple

Dabei Temple is the fourth monastery of the Badachu, formerly known as the Yinji Temple. It was founded in the Song and Liao dynasties, which is more than 900 years ago. The temple is located deep in the jungle alone, with layers of halls rising up by the mountain.

The first floor of the building is the Mountain Gate Hall, in which the center is the sitting statue of "Big Belly Maitreya Buddha" and the four heavenly kings are arranged to the left and right. These five statues are all new works of recent years. When you pass through the mountain gate to the north, you can see the green bamboo next to the steps, which is said to have been planted in the Ming Dynasty and originally produced in Jiangnan.

The second hall is the Mahamudra Hall, which is decorated with a brick carving of "two dragons playing with a pearl" in the middle of the ridge. The center of the hall is dedicated to Sakyamuni Buddha, and the "Eighteen Luohan" are placed in two chambers. The eighteen Luohan in the Mahamudra Hall are sitting on top of the stones.

Behind the Mahamudra Hall is the Hall of Great Compassion. It is five rooms wide and houses a colorful carved statue of Guanyin Daishonin. There are two old ginkgo trees in front of the Hall of Great Compassion, which are luxuriant in summer and shade the courtyard. In late autumn, the yellow leaves fall. These two male white fruit trees are more than seven hundred years old.

The last floor of the hall is the Medicine Buddha Hall, the structure layout and painting still take the Qing Dynasty official practice. The hall looks luxurious and solemn. Inside the hall are enshrined the Medicine Buddha, the Bodhisattva of Universal Light and the Bodhisattva of Universal Moonlight. Twelve deities of the Medicine Fork are placed on either side. The fifteen statues are all made of sandalwood and decorated with gold on the outside, giving people a sense of solemnity and luxury.

Longquan Temple

Longquan Temple is the fifth monastery in the Badaichu. In the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, two temples coexisted here, one was Huiyun Zen Forest and the other was Longwang Hall. The former was built during the Ming Hongxi period, while the latter was built in the second year of the Qing Shunzhi period. The two temples were merged into one during the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty.

Entering the temple door is a carved fence square pool. The wall of the pool is surrounded by green stone, which is exceptionally strong and clean. The water in the pool is crystal clear, which is the well-known "Dragon Spring". West of the courtyard has three pillars of the hall, and in front of the scaffolding holding a hall, which is dedicated to the clay painted statue of the Dragon King. Next to them are the statues of the Thunder God, the Mother of Lightning, the Wind God and the Rain God, all of which are very vivid. In the north of Longquan Temple is another group of halls, which are Wenchang Pavilion, Daxiong Hall, Woyou Pavilion and Ancestor Hall from east to west in order.

Xiangjie Temple

Xiangjie Temple is the sixth temple of the Bdachu, facing south and covering an area of nearly 20 acres. The entire temple is built by the mountains. Its majestic beauty ranks first among the temples in the Badachu, and its rich and precious collections are worthy of being the first among the three mountains.

Xiangjie Temple was founded in the Tang Dynasty and was first called "Pingpo Dajue Temple". Later, it was rebuilt for generations and renamed as "Da Yuan Tong Temple", "Sheng Gan Temple" and "Xiangjie Temple". The layout of Xiangjie Temple is neat and symmetrical. Along the central axis from south to north,  it has Shanmen Hall, Da Cheng Gate, Tianwang Hall, Daxiong Hall, Western Three Saints Hall, and Scripture Hall.

With its lofty and magnificent halls and pavilions, the thousand-year old temple has touched generations of emperors, eminent officials and literati with its profound Buddhist style. They not only visited the temple frequently, but also left touching and immortal works.

Baoju Cave

Baoju-dong is the seventh temple of the Badachu. The temple is located slightly below the top of Pingpo Mountain. The roadside is covered with sumac, torch and other trees. In spring and summer, they are verdant. In late autumn, they are red and eye-catching.

Baozhu Cave is not large, and the temple gate faces northeast, the temple face southeast. There is an open pavilion, two halls. The southeast of the courtyard is a three-room open pavilion with a scrolling roof, called " Overlooking Pavilion ". Under the cliff is the temple of Guanyin Dashi Hall. The hall is dedicated to the statue of Ruyi Guanyin, which is sculpted by people today. There are three rooms of Amitabha Buddha Hall built on the cliff behind Guanyin Hall, with two ear rooms. In the old days, the hall was used to house a clay statue of Amitabha Buddha, but today it has been replaced by a standing statue of the Three Worlds Buddha.

The mysterious " Bao Zhu Cave" is located behind Guanyin Hall. The cave is less than six feet high and more than one foot deep. The pebbles on the wall of the cave are mixed with black and white, which are crystal-like and resemble pearls, thus the cave got its name.

Zhengguo Temple

Zhengguo Temple is the eighth temple of the Badachu. The temple faces south and the whole temple is divided into three groups of halls, from south to north in the middle are the Hall of the Mountain Gate, the Hall of the Heavenly King and the Hall of the Three Worlds Buddha. The east is the Abbot Courtyard, the west is the Mimo Cliff and other ancillary buildings.

To the left of the mountain gate there is a deep pond, which is more than ten feet wide, called Qinglong Lake. During rainy seasons, the water often overflows out of the pool, which is cold and tasty. After walking along the stone road for more than a hundred steps, you can see the Hall of the Mountain Gate. The Mahamuni Hall is now dedicated to the new statues of Sakyamuni Buddha, Amitabha Buddha and Medicine Buddha. The Abbot Courtyard has a quiet and elegant environment. Outside the courtyard are slopes, where the cool breeze makes it possible to look around at the beauty of the forest and ravines and peaks, making it a summer resort. The western part is a group of garden-style buildings.

Opening hours: 8:30 to 16:00

Service Hotline：010-88964661

Ticketing Inquiry：010-88961812

Tickets:

1. Adult admission fee: 10 RMB per ticket.

2. Discounted tickets: 5 RMB per ticket.

Exemption and concessionary ticket regulations：

1. Free admission for retired persons, active and retired military personnel, senior citizens over 60 years old (with Beijing Pass - Senior Citizen Disability Card) and disabled persons (including disabled soldiers) with documents; free admission for children under 1.2 meters.

2. University, high school and elementary school students (excluding adult education and graduate students) can purchase discount tickets with valid student ID.

3. Out-of-town senior citizens over 60 years of age with a privilege card; visitors with a social security card can purchase discount tickets with the card.

Annual and Monthly Pass Regulations：

1. Monthly Park Passes are sold from the 28th of each month to the 5th of the following month at 40 RMB each. You must bring a large 2-inch (5cm*3.5cm) bareheaded recent photo of yourself to the ticket office.

2. Annual Park Passes are sold in December each year for 200 RMB each. You must bring a large 2-inch (5cm*3.5cm) bareheaded recent photo of yourself to the ticket office.

3. Annual and monthly tickets are not valid during the Spring Festival, May 1st, October Golden Week and long holidays (subject to the national holiday time).

4. In case of epidemic, earthquake, fire and other force majeure factors, the annual and monthly tickets will not be extended or refunded.

Transportation：

By Bus: Take No. 347, No. 389, No. 598, No. 972 or No. 958 to the Badachu Park station.

By car: Get off at the exit of Badachu on the Northwest Fifth Ring Road, and follow Badachu Road for about two kilometers; or get off at the exit of Sishiqing on the West Fourth Ring Road, and follow Xingshikou Road to Badachu Road. There are three parking lots no more than 100 meters from the gate area, with a total of 1,200 parking spaces.