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Wofo Temple
Travel in Beijing

Wofo Temple

Wofo Temple (wò fó sì 卧佛寺)(Temple of the Reclining Buddha) is located inside the Beijing Botanical Gardens, almost 1 km east of the Fragrant Hills.

About 20 kilometers from central Beijing proper, the rear of the temple is set against the mountain cliffs, with its front to open fields.

The temple was first built during the Zhenguan period (627-249) of the Tang Dynasty, when it was also known as Shouansi (Temple of Peaceful Longevity).

It fell into ruin over time and was rebuilt and renamed several times. One of the last major renovations was completed in 1724.

Wofo TempleThe temple is also known as Shifang Pujue Temple (Shifang in Buddism means the ten directions Pujue means universal awakening.) It consists of five rows of halls. The main courtyards, with an area of 2.8 hectares, include three parts. The middle courtyard, straddling the axis of the temple, consists of the most important structures of the temple the eastern courtyard used to be the abodes of the monks the western courtyard served as a temporary imperial palace. Enshrined in the Wofo Hall is the rare treasure of reclining Sakyamuni statue cast by bronze in Yuan Dynasty, measuring 5.3 meters in length and 1.6 meters in height, and weighing about 54 tons. In front of the temple there is a road with old cypress trees on each side and two archways which were both inscribed with four Chinese characters respectively meaning “enlightenment of wisdom and perspicacious understanding” and “consult together the mystery of Buddhism”. Clustered around by old cypress trees, flowers, pavilions, rockeries and ponds, the temple presents peace and silence. On June 25, 2001, the temple was designated as a state protected historical site.

Contact
Address: Beijing Botanical Garden
Tel: 62591561 ext 2007

Map

 

alt


altAttractions nearby
Xiangshan Park
Beijing Botanical Garden

Opening Time
8:30--16:30

Ticket Price
RMB 5, but RMB 5 is required to enter the Botanical Garden.

Transport
By bus
331, 904, 737, 714, 833, 733, 318, 360, mini-23, mini-66. There are two main visitor entrances on Xiangshan Nanlu and Xiangyi Lu.

By car
From Summer Palace: Continue straight onto Xiangyi Lu and drive 10 kilometers and turn right to the parking lot.

From the Fifth Circle Highway
Exit at Fragrant Hill; drive 0.8 kilometers and turn right to the parking lot .

Parking
There is a visitor entrance and attended parking (for a fee) at South Gate.
Parking lot opens at 8 am and close at 6pm. There is no overnight parking. Buses only when space is limited.

Tips

  • It is not permitted to take photographs in any of the halls.
  • After visiting Wofo Temple, you can visit The Cherry Valley nearby.

Wofo Temple