Please join our tour of Fayuan Temple, the oldest Buddhist Monastery in Beijing, led by cultural heritage protection expert Matthew Hu Xinyu. First built in the Tang Dynasty (645 AD), during the reign of Emperor Taizong, the temple was rebuilt a number of times over the centuries. Many of its historical relics survived through the ages, even though the temple was severely damaged during the 1966-1976 Cultural Revolution. The Fayuan temple is also known as the backdrop for an historical novel, titled “Martyrs’ Shrine: the Story of the Reform Movement of 1898 in China” and written by prominent author Li Ao, who was born in Beijing and brought up in Taiwan; it was a Nobel Prize for Literature nominee in 2001. A national-level listed heritage building, the temple currently hosts the China Buddhist College and the China Buddhist Sutra Library.

Date:   Friday, Dec 15, 2017

Time:   2 pm – 4:30 pm

Where:  Fayuan Temple, #7 Fayuansi Qianjie (south of Jiaozi Hutong), Xicheng District tel: 6353 4171 (15 mins walk from Caishikou subway stop, exit D) 西城区法源寺前街七号法源寺

How much: RMB 50 for RASBJ members, RMB 80 for non-members (prices include the entry fee)

RSVP: email communications.ras.bj@gmail.com no later than Dec. 14, and write “Fayuan Temple” in the header.