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Hongluo Temple

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Located at the southern foot of Hongluo Mountain, Hongluo Temple was built in 378 AD and was enlarged during the Tang Dynasty. Its original name was Daming Temple, also called Huguo Temple. Its current name of Hongluo or the red river snail is derived from a legend of the Maiden Red River snail. For the past 10 centuries, it has been a pivotal land for the Buddhism in north China; many senior Buddhist monks were trained and practiced here. And it is also the birth place of Jinghua Qigong.

Covering 16.6 acres, Hongluo Temple is the largest Buddhist temple in northern China and a residential temple where abbots were trained for other smaller temples. Many senior Buddhist monks from Japan and other Asian countries studied Buddhist scriptures here.

Lying in the suburb of Beijing, the Hongluo Temple received many ancient emperors as well. The temple is divided into five courtyards, the central one being the entrance to the temple, the Hall of Heavenly Kings, Mahavira Hall, Meditation Room and a hall where Buddhist scripture is taught. The eastern courtyard consists of a guestroom and dining rooms, while the back yard has its Yanshoutang (room for prolonging life), the Monk's Hut and an arena for practicing Qiogong. West is the Tower Yard, which contains the monks' Ash Room and their bone pagoda.

The area around the Hongluo Temple has become a sightseeing and fruits picking resorts in the past decade. On weekends or public holidays, a number of Beijing residents or tourists from afar drive here. Popular activities, apart from burning incenses in the temple and sightseeing, also include picking up cherries in early summer and fishing the trout in late autumn. A full range of tourist accommodation have been set up in the scenic zone which can host banquet for 650 people and offer clean beds for over 300 visitors.

 Attractions and highlights of the zone varies with seasons: spring is a time for viewing flower and green grassland, summer for cool holiday, autumn for appreciating chrysanthemum, mountain climbing and in winter time the annual temple fair and plum blossom exhibition take place.

Edition HistoryEditLocation:

The temple is situated at the southern foot of the Hongluo (red river snail) hill, four kilometers north of Huairou county.

Edition HistoryEditTicket Price:

30 yuan

Edition HistoryEdit Opening Time:

whole day

Edition HistoryEdit How to get there:

1. Bus No. 936 (service hour: 7:00 am to 5: 00 pm) departs from the Beijing Dongzhimen Long Distance Bus Station direct to to the temple ; 
2. Take Bus No. 916 to the center of Huairou county and then call a taxi to the temple; 
3. Tourist Bus No. 6 and 16 also run to the temple (Saturday, Sunday and public holiday only. 

Edition HistoryEdit Tips:

1. Price for the chute: 30 Yuan per person for one way only and 50 Yuan for a round trip; 
2. Food and beverage: there are a number of teahouses and restaurants; 
3. Shopping: Many souvenir shops sell figures of Buddha, Buddhist literature, sutra, tapes and CD within the temple.