Take to the Hills: The Murals at Fahai Temple

It's a great day for exploring the hills to the west of Beijing. Not only will you be able to glimpse rare views of the city - on a clear day you can make out the new CCTV headquarters and the China World Trade Center tower in the far distance - but you can also visit some of the many temples in the area. Fahai Temple (Fahai Si) is one of the best-known, largely due to the quality of the murals that were painted on its walls back in the Ming Dynasty. The temple only recently opened its gates to the public again after two years of large scale renovation work, part of a more general effort by the city government to restore Beijing's temples. To better protect the original murals from being harmed, eight of them were painstakingly duplicated and are now exhibited in different halls throughout the temple. However, as of late September, the originals are also now open to the public - but at a price - you'll have to pay an extra 100 kuai to see the original frescos.

How to get there: Take the subway to the last stop on Line 1, Pingguoyuan. From there take bus 311 from out the front of the subway station to Jinding Beilu. Walk about 500m north across the bridge (follow the direction of the bus), once you've crossed the bridge turn left up the small track that runs along the north bank of the canal and up to a dam. Keep following the canal until you get to a car park. Turn right up the hill and you'll be at the temple.

After you've paid a visit to the temple, you can continue up to a path that runs along the ridge on top of Cuiwei Mountain and continues along to Badachu and Xiangshan. The walk to Badachu takes about 1.5-2 hours and will offer you some great views of the capital. You can find a rough map here.

Fahai Temple
RMB 20, concession RMB 10. An extra RMB 100 for the privilege of viewing the original murals.
Daily 9am-4pm.

Links and Sources
Immersion Guides: Beijing Excursions Guide
Phoenix: 北京法海寺壁画重现明代辉煌 经修缮后重开(图)
CRI: Fahai Temple Relics Restored
ebeijing.gov: Fahai Temple
Foreign Language Press: Exquisite Murals from the Fahai Buddhist Temple
Powerhouse Museum: Hedda Morrison Photographic Collection - Details of Mural at Fahai Temple
Baidu Baike: 香八拉 (Map of how to walk from Pingguoyuan Subway stop to Xiangshan via Badachu)