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.