Yong’an Temple 永安寺 (on Jade Islet 琼华岛), Chanfu Temple 阐福寺 and Wanfo Tower 万佛楼 in Beihai Park represent “Stability”, “Blessing” and “Longevity” (“安定”、“福泽”、“寿康”) respectively. Historically, Chanfu Temple and Wanfo Tower echoed each other to form a magnificent scenery on the north bank of the Beihai Park. This is a place of worship as well as a royal garden. They face the White Pagoda on Jade Islet across the lake, covering Beihai Park in the world of Buddhism.1
Northwest Cluster of Buddhist Buildings in Beihai Park
Minor Western Heaven 小西天
Emperor Qianlong built Minor Western Heaven 小西天, a two-year construction project (1768-1770), to honour his mother’s 60th birthday and to pray for her happiness and longevity. The complex occupies an area of 4,000 m2 with a main building that has a floor space of 1,200 m2 .
On the south side is a crescent moat spanned by a stone bridge with beautiful carved railings. The corner buildings are stately and magnificent, built in the traditional Qing mortise and tendon 榫卯 structure.2
In each cardinal direction is a glazed archway similar to one in the south, and at each corner is a small square pavilion.
The core structure “Land of Extreme Happiness” 极乐世界殿 with a 13.5m transverse beam, is the largest palatial hall in the style of a square pavilion in China. The hall, surrounded by water, is accessible by bridges from four cardinal directions.3
Inside the hall is a massive clay sculpture of Mount Meru 須彌山 with 226 statues of Arhats on the hill and ocean waves painted at the foot of the hill. This sculpture symbolises the Buddhist paradise, aka Western Pure Land 西方极乐世界 (Sanskrit: Sukhavati) or “Land of Extreme Happiness”.
This hall has elaborately-carved wooden casements on the interior walls, and a golden overhead plaque with Emperor Qianlong’ s calligraphy that reads “Land of Extreme Happiness” 極樂世界. Overhead is a shining octagonal caisson ceiling with intricate dragon motif carvings.
I was not able to go in as it was closed for preservation. But the inspiration of this massive sculpture, which was restored in 1993, comes from the Buddhist’s vision of heaven where the attained would be guided to, the abode of Shakyamuni Buddha, whom image now sits at the top of the Mount Meru.
Which reminded me of my own faith, “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. ” (Exodus 20:4 NLT)
Stone Stele of Ten-Thousand Buddha Tower 万佛楼石碑
The Stele of Ten-thousand Buddha Tower 万佛楼石碑 erected in 1770 bears the inscription of a “Poem to Commemorate the Completion of Ten-thousand Buddha Tower” 《万佛楼落成瞻礼诗》written by Qianlong himself, in Han, Manchurian, Mongolian, and Tibetan script each on one side.
Originally standing in front of the tower, it was moved to this location in 1987. Ten-Thousand Buddha Tower 万佛楼 aka Wanfo Lou, which no longer exists, had been built on the order of Qing Emperor Qianlong (1711-99) to celebrate the 80th birthday of his mother.
Wanfo Lou Relic Site 万佛楼遗址区
This courtyard was originally built by Emperor Qianlong to celebrate his mother’s 80th birthday. It was closed for a long time, and the main building, Wanfo Lou 万佛楼, no longer exists. Only Puqing Gate 普庆门, Baoji Building 宝积楼, Miaoxiang Pavilion 妙相亭, Zhishuang Building 致爽楼 and two marble scripture pillars 石经幢 are preserved.
The Ten Thousand Buddhas Tower was 27 m high, with three floors and seven open rooms. There are thousands of shrines on each floor, which enshrine Buddha statues of different sizes. According to the “Ten Thousand Buddha Tower Blissfully World Furnishings”, “there are actually 1,298 Buddha statues”.
During the Gengzi (1900) Boxer Rebellion and subsequent Invasion of Eight-Nation Alliance4, Wanfo Lou was occupied by the Japanese as their war office. In the early years of the Republic of China (1912), the “Three Seas Observations” 《三海见闻志》recorded that the Buddha statues in Wanfo Lou were “transported back to their home country by the Japanese army, and there were no more”. Due to the lack of necessary maintenance, Wanfo Lou was eventually dismantled.5
Chanfu Temple 阐福寺
Chanfu Temple 阐福寺, or Temple of Expounding Blessings, was formerly known as Taisu Hall 太素殿 during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), a royal palace that was used as by the Ming royal family as a residence during their excursions to the park.
In 1746, Qing Emperor Qianlong ordered that it be converted into a Buddhist hall on the same scale as Longxing Temple in Zhengding County, Hebei (河北正定隆兴寺, see video below), with new auxiliary halls and other structures added.
Bell Tower, Drum Tower, Hall of Four Heavenly Kings 钟楼、鼓楼、天王殿
The temple then became an important site where the Qing court conducted Buddhist ceremonies. The temple complex consists of Bell and Drum Towers, Hall of Heavenly Kings, and the Great Buddha Hall (destroyed by fire in 1919), etc.
Great Buddha Hall Site 大佛殿遗址
The Chanfu Temple was established in the 11th year of Emperor Qianlong’s reign (1746), The Great Buddha Hall is the main building of the Chanfu Temple.
Since 1980, annual flower show featuring chrysanthemums, Chinese roses, potted landscapes, root sculptures, lotus flowers, etc. has been held here. Hence older guides and layout still show this location as Beihai Economic Botanical Garden 北海经济植物园.
The Great Buddha Hall is a lofty and majestic structure. The hall is comprised of three floors. The Thousand-Hand-and-Thousand-Eye Buddha 千手千眼菩萨 statue, aka Usnisa-sitatapatra 大白伞盖佛母立像, was carved from a single block of gold-rimmed nanmu and adorned with numerous treasures, was enshrined in the hall.
The statue of Usnisa-sitatapatra 大白伞盖佛母立像 is enshrined in The Great Buddha Hall and made from a single slab of gold-rimmed nanmu 金丝楠木. It is embedded with enormous treasures and has a thousand hands, eyes and faces. This magnificent Buddha also carries a giant white chattra of dozens of meters.6
In 1919, the Great Buddha Hall, together with the Back Hall 后殿 and the Octagonal Pavilion 八方亭, were all destroyed by fire. The cause the fire was not recorded. Today, a rectangular block represents the exact dimension and location of the Great Buddha Hall.
In 2009, the excavation of cultural relics and monuments was carried out here and the area was closed to public. In 2019, as commercial activities were moved out of these historical buildings, Chanfu Temple compound was restored and reopened.
I loved the way they selectively restored some of the original ceiling tiles to their former glory. This leaves us a sense of time as well as the appreciation of the original craftsmanship.
The whole walkabout in the northwest cluster takes about an hour for a detail look and that’s without the Minor Western Heaven, which was closed when I was there. I look forward to future exhibitions this gallery in Chanfu Temple, hoping to see some of the original pieces that survived the fire.
About Beihai Park 北海公园
Beihai Park 北海公園 was originally Beihai 北海, or North Sea, of the “Three Seas of the Imperial Western Gardens” 西苑三海 of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It is located within the Imperial City, northwest of the Forbidden City, and was the royal garden only for enjoyment by the royal family of the Liao, Jin, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, spanning across a period of almost a thousand year. In 1925, it was opened to the public as a park.
First built in the 12th century, Beihai is among the largest of all surviving Chinese gardens and contains numerous historically important structures, palaces, and temples. The present park has an area of around 71 hectares (180 acres) with a lake that covers more than half of its area.
At its centre is Jade Flower Island 瓊華島/琼华岛, whose highest point is 32m. The park’s lake is connected at its northern end to the Shichahai 什刹海 (a nightlife area of pubs and restaurants around the lake) and to Zhonghai 中海 (where the central government of China operates and closed to public) to the southern end.
As with many of Chinese imperial gardens, Beihai was designed to imitate renowned scenic spots and architecture from various regions of China, particularly Jiangnan around the Yangtze Delta. Various aspects of the park evoke the elaborate pavilions and canals of Hangzhou and Yangzhou, the delicate gardens of Suzhou, and the natural scenery around Lake Tai with its famously porous stones. Beihai Park itself is now reckoned one of the masterpieces of Chinese gardening and landscaping.
The park is opened all year round, and can be accessed from four gates, two on the southern end (West and South gates), one in the north (North gate) and one on the east side (East gate). The park would need at least 4 hours to see everything.
Opening hours for the park are 6am – 9pm (peak season, Apr-Oct), 6.30am – 8pm (off peak, Nov-Mar); Opening hours for the attractions are 8am – 6pm (peak season), 8.30am – 5.30pm (off peak)
Visited May 2023
Footnotes :
- 北海琼华岛永安寺、阐福寺、万佛楼几组建筑群分别寓意“安定”、“福泽”、“寿康”，是一套完整的历史文化价值体系。历史上，阐福寺大殿与万佛楼遥相呼应构成了北海北岸一道壮丽的风景。这里是礼佛场所，又是皇家园林，既有寺庙的庄严，又有园林的雅致。它们与琼岛白塔隔池相望，让整座北海置身于佛国世界之中。 ↩︎
- 南面有半圆形水池，池上有汉白玉石的月牙桥，水池周围有松柏和花草。其周围有矮墙环绕，连墙四面，正中各有琉璃砖和汉白玉石砌成的高大的三顶拱门的牌楼，中间的拱门上镶嵌着白玉石的匾额，镌刻着“水德功证”，背面刻着“现欢喜园”。 ↩︎
- 极乐世界殿，主体建筑为极乐世界殿，总建筑面积1246平方米，是全中国最大的方亭式宫殿建筑。大殿为四角攒尖式建筑，高26.9米，重檐，黄琉璃瓦，绿剪边，顶尖有巨大的铸铜鎏金宝顶，四面窗扉、楠扇细镂花纹。金碧辉煌的大殿由88根极大的柏木和金丝楠木支撑，其梁跨度13.5米，是世界上木结构建筑中所罕见的。皇家气派在此尽显。
殿内高处悬挂金匾“极乐世界”为乾隆御笔，上方为金光灿灿的八角穹窿团龙藻井，十分庄严。还有乾隆题写的一副对联，上联是“无量胜因恒河参善果”，下联是“真如妙境祗树拥祥光”。殿内主体为泥塑的须弥山模型，山上塑有佛像、观音像，共布有二百二十六尊罗汉等各类佛家神像，山间丛林古刹、宝塔耸立、仙鸟神兽、奇花异卉、河流瀑布交相呼应，山下绘滿海水，以象征须弥山佛家胜境，故又有“罗汉山”和“海岛”之称。https://www.zhengjian.org/node/258588 ↩︎ - In spring 1900 (or Gengzi Year﹝庚子﹞in the Chinese lunar calendar), the Qing government changed its policy on the Boxers from suppression to appeasement to use them against the foreign powers. The Boxers changed their name to the Society of the Righteous and Harmonious Fists since then. The group soon spread from Shandong to Zhili, Tianjin (天津), and Beijing (北京). In response, Britain, the United States, Japan, Russia, France, Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy formed the Eight-Nation Alliance. https://chiculture.org.hk/en/photo-story/1728 ↩︎
- 万佛楼高27米，三层七开间，每层楼内均有数千佛龛，里面供奉大小不一的佛像。据《万佛楼极乐世界陈设档》记载，“实有佛像一万二百九十八尊”。1900年庚子国难期间，万佛楼被日军占领，成书于民国初年的《三海见闻志》记载万佛楼内佛像被“日本军运回本国，无一余者”。进入民国后，由于缺少必要的维护，万佛楼逐趋于衰败。https://www.visitbeijing.com.cn/article/47QkIhphS7T ↩︎
- 阐福寺建于乾隆十一年（1746年），大佛殿是即福寺主建筑，重宇三层，上层恭悬御书额日“大雄宝殿”，中日“极乐世界”，下曰“福田花雨”。大佛殿内供奉的大白伞盖佛母立像，是用金丝楠木树干雕刻而成，全身嵌满无数珠宝，千手千眼前面，手持几十米长的大白伞盖。 Display tag ↩︎
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