Temple of Heaven
If Beijing’ chaos is weighing you down, or you are fed up with touts selling you tickets to the Great Wall, then follow my lead and escape from the madness at the Temple of Heaven. The temple itself is an awesome sight, you need to get into the inner compound for the best pics. Around the temple though are loads of parks where older Chinese people are practicing Tai Chi, calligraphy, dancing – especially early in the morning.
Lama temple
The Lama Temple is one of Beijing’s most famous temples (second only to The Temple of Heaven) and is high on the list of sites that of most visitors want to see. If you are in Beijing now, you cannot miss the Lama Temple. Anyone on a street nearby can smell the burning incense and hear the bustle of worship coming from inside. Although this temple can often be crowded, visitors can always find a hidden place of solitude to taken in their surroundings.
White Cloud Taoist Temple
Being one of the three "ancestral courts" of the Quanzhen Sect of Taoism, White Cloud Temple is located on the east side of Baiyun Road, Fuxingmenwai Street, Xicheng District. It attracts pilgrims and tourists from all over the world. The Spring Festival Fair and celebration at it is also a wonderful place to find out about Chinese culture and tradition.
White Cloud Temple has various halls which house the gods of Taoism. The buildings complex, arranged generally in a straight line, can be divided into three groups, the middle section, the east section and the west section. At the back you will find a beautiful garden.
Dongyue Temple
Dongyue Temple probably has more gods than any other temple in Beijing. It serves over 3,000 Chinese gods, from the most prestigious Jade Emperor, the emperor in heaven, and Dongyue, the god for the Tai Mountain (also known as Dongyue, the East Mountain of the Five Mountains in China) to inferior gods like the god of builders and contractors, Lu Ban. Dongyue Temple is also known for the more than one hundred stone tablets in its yards, especially the Zhang Gong Tablet by Zhao Mengfu, one of the four famous calligraphy masters in Chinese history.
Tanzhe Temple
The oldest and largest temple in Beijing, the Tanzhe Temple is believed to be older than the city of Beijing itself. Located in the dramatic hills surrounding the city this temple is definitely worth a visit if you are looking to escape the crowds for the day. The area around Tanzhe Temple is as stunning as the temple itself, filled with ancient “Zhe” trees and houses the famous Dragon Lake.
The temple complex itself is on several different levels with each hall dedicated to a different deity. This is worship on a massive scale and the intricate design in the buildings makes the area both intriguing and mysterious.
Confucius Temple
A restored temple dedicated to the great scholar and teacher Confucius. The Confucius Temple grounds in Beijing hold 198 stone tablets engraved with the names of scholars who passed the notoriously difficult imperial examinations. Next door to the Confucius Temple is the Imperial College where students swotted up on the Chinese classics. Its grounds maintain a quiet and studious atmosphere.