The Temple of Divine Light, as one of the eight Buddhist temples and monasteries scattered across theCuiwei, Pingpo and Lushi hills, houses a precious relic in its Buddha Tooth Relic Stupa.

The 1,200-year-old Buddhist Temple is situated in the famous Badachu, or Eight Great Sites at the foot of Beijing's Western Hills. It features eight Buddhist temples and monasteries scattered across the slopes. The Temple of Divine Light has been praised as the most prominent among the eight, though it is not the largest. It was built from 766-779 AD during the Tang Dynasty.

Badachu Park is notable for its eight ancient temples, nunneries and a cave set amidst beautiful scenery on the southern slopes of the Western Hills. The eight ancient sites are Changan Temple (Temple of Eternal Peace), Dabei Temple (Temple of Great Mercy), Dragon Spring Nunnery, Xiangjie Temple (The Temple of the Fragrant World), Pearl Cave (The Cave of the Precious Pearl), Zhengguo Temple and Sanshan Nunnery. All the sites were built at the end of the Sui Dynasty (581-618) and the beginning of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), and were renovated during the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. The Temple of Divine Light, famous for housing the Buddha tooth relic, was built in the Tang Dynasty and is now opened to the public.

After Buddha Sakyamuni passed away, the cremation left two tooth relics, one of which was brought to Ceylon by his disciples, with the other first brought to Uddiyana, and then to Yu Wen. In the middle of the 5th century, the prominent monk Fa Xian traveled here and took the tooth relic back to the capital of the Qi Dynasty, Jian Kang. After the Sui Dynasty was established, the tooth relic was sent to Chang'an and later was moved to the capital of the North Liao Dynasty (907-1125). Finally, it was preserved in the Zhao Xian Ta of Lingguang temple in l071.

The octagonal Buddha Tooth Relic Stupa is up to 51 meters high and has thirteen layers. Its base was constructed with white marble, reaching 2.7 m above the ground. Within the hall of the temple is a seven-story structure, and the Buddha tooth relic is now preserved in a one-meter-high pure gold pagoda inside.

There are seven stories inside the stupa. The ground floor serving as a monument room is embedded with stone inscriptions and scriptures. A zigzagging stone stair from the monument room leads to the stupa hall, where the tooth relic is kept and a vajra seat and a painted screen are placed. The whole wall is made from marble, and the roof is affixed with golden dragons, solemn, serene and peaceful. The other six stories are used to preserve classic Buddhist scriptures from the Han, Tibetan, Mongolian, Dai and other nationalities. Today, the Buddha Tooth Relic Stupa has become a symbol of Badachu.

Opening hours: 05:00 - 19:30

How to get there: take Bus No. 347, 389, 622, 972 or 958 and get off at the terminus