Dong Yue Miao (Dongyue Temple)
Dong Yue Miao (Dongyue Temple)
4.5
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Monday
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Tuesday
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Wednesday
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Thursday
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Friday
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Saturday
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Sunday
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
About
This Daoist temple was founded in 1322 by followers of the Zhengyi sect.
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- Dongdaqiao • 9 min walk
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3,300 within 3 miles
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643 within 6 miles
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
4.5
79 reviews
Excellent
39
Very good
34
Average
5
Poor
1
Terrible
0
tetelu
Cluj-Napoca, Romania356 contributions
Apr 2012 • Solo
I chose to visit it when I found it in a Top 10 spookiest buildings around the world.
Not that scary I thought it will be, but it is an interesting experience. It has tens of places that house some spiritual departments, like punishment department, department for Implementing 15 Kinds of Death, department of Forest Ghosts and Spirits, department for Wandering Ghosts, department of Opposing Obscene Acts, department for the accumulation of justifiable wealth, etc. Any problem you might have, here you will find a department to prey to.
The place is not very well kept, and some of the "departments" look very bad, but probably those are not so popular..
The place is very peaceful, and all the monks I saw were bored to death.
The simple ticket is 10yuans. But it is a good idea to pay 30Y because you will have a guide that probably knows better what all those beasts are.
Not that scary I thought it will be, but it is an interesting experience. It has tens of places that house some spiritual departments, like punishment department, department for Implementing 15 Kinds of Death, department of Forest Ghosts and Spirits, department for Wandering Ghosts, department of Opposing Obscene Acts, department for the accumulation of justifiable wealth, etc. Any problem you might have, here you will find a department to prey to.
The place is not very well kept, and some of the "departments" look very bad, but probably those are not so popular..
The place is very peaceful, and all the monks I saw were bored to death.
The simple ticket is 10yuans. But it is a good idea to pay 30Y because you will have a guide that probably knows better what all those beasts are.
Written April 3, 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Janine B
Auckland Central, New Zealand68 contributions
Jun 2019
I wasn't disappointed if you have time try to go without a tour guide that way you will have more time to walk around and soak up the history or ask the guide to allow a bit of extra time for self-exploration, there is so much to take in.
Written June 9, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
tombillinge
Trumbull, CT1,157 contributions
May 2013 • Solo
This temple is totally unique. Not for the buildings (which are standard), but for the cloister gallery of small halls containing statues of different departments of the heavenly bureaucracy. There is some vivid and (at times) gruesome imagery. For 10 yuan, it is really worth visiting. You can combine it with Sanlitun area.
I absolutely recommend it as something different to do in Beijing.
I absolutely recommend it as something different to do in Beijing.
Written May 29, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
RockDoc50
San Francisco, CA82 contributions
Dec 2019 • Couples
Definitely worth a visit while in Beijing. The world’s largest Buddha carved from a single tree trunk is truly spectacular.
Written December 28, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ana Carolina
Sao Paulo, SP57 contributions
May 2018
nice temple. very beautiful. just wish they had more explanations in ENG about what we are seeing. it is not a touristic place as the temple is active so mindful and respectful while there
Written August 28, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
bonanza1973
San Carlos, CA593 contributions
Jan 2016 • Solo
It's a 700 meter walk (10min) from exit A of the Dongdaqiao metro station on line 6. Few tourists visit this temple so it's easily toured. It's a Daoist temple and worshipers are seen making offerings. There's a bonus to visiting since the Beijing Folklore museum is housed in the back of the temple. It's stroller and handicap accessible.
Written January 9, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Nico C
Manila, Philippines36 contributions
Sep 2013 • Solo
Located in Beijing’s Chaoyang District, the Dong yue Miao offers its visitors a quiet respite from the all the commotion in the city. That is until you see the monsters lurking from inside! Surrounding the main halls of the temple are more than 70 rooms containing an assemblage of plaster figures illustrating various Taoist ”departments.” The rooms have English signs, so you could spend well over an hour looking at all of them.
Written October 11, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Aethelred
Cambridge, MA1,337 contributions
Sep 2013 • Solo
By now, this is again a working Taoist temple with a (not very exciting) folk art museum attached. When I was there, it was nicely busy but not crowded, the altars of the main temples and the main cubicles (representing key figures of the specific sub-form of Taoism of which this temple is part) were well-attended, there were fresh fruit offerings, incense and money everywhere. The Taoist priests were busy, as were the guides and the guards. There were a few Chinese tourists and no other Westerners. A great place with real charm and spirituality, not like the - comparable - Confucius Temple, which is much more magnificent but bascially a historical site, or the Lama Temple, which uneasily balances mass tourism with Buddhism. Both are great, but Dong Yue should surely not be forgotten.
It is also a great temple for *doing* things: You can actively engage here, from incense via plaques and money offerings to writing wishes on big scrolls to patting one God's Jade Horse (made from marble) on the nose. Just fantastic for kids too! The often-mentioned Heavenly Bureaucracy is the only dilapidated part of the temple, and also the most interesting part - not unusual (think of the Tiger Balm Gardens in Singapore), but very complete and very educational. Very few displays are "gruesome", but - other than the oft-mentioned beautiful display of Chinese bureaucracy, which is of course an assent of the country, not a liability, especially historically speaking - it also teaches very nice moral lessons with strong contemporary relevance, whether we agree with them or not. Don't be cruel to animals, don't bully, don't cheat, only pursue wealth decently and honestly, honor your parents and grandparents... nice!
The place is also very beautiful architecturally, there are many great steles, its size makes the place manageable, there are nice historic trees and so on.
Finally, access: Too many reviews and websites do not yet take into account the new metro line 6. With it, Dong Yue Miao is more easily accessible than ever. The temple is exactly in the middle between Chaoyangmen (which is also on #2) and Dongdaquiao. From the former, head straight EAST on the left side of the road; from the latter, head WEST on the right side. (Both times, you need to cross one big road first.) It's a few minutes of walking.
It is also a great temple for *doing* things: You can actively engage here, from incense via plaques and money offerings to writing wishes on big scrolls to patting one God's Jade Horse (made from marble) on the nose. Just fantastic for kids too! The often-mentioned Heavenly Bureaucracy is the only dilapidated part of the temple, and also the most interesting part - not unusual (think of the Tiger Balm Gardens in Singapore), but very complete and very educational. Very few displays are "gruesome", but - other than the oft-mentioned beautiful display of Chinese bureaucracy, which is of course an assent of the country, not a liability, especially historically speaking - it also teaches very nice moral lessons with strong contemporary relevance, whether we agree with them or not. Don't be cruel to animals, don't bully, don't cheat, only pursue wealth decently and honestly, honor your parents and grandparents... nice!
The place is also very beautiful architecturally, there are many great steles, its size makes the place manageable, there are nice historic trees and so on.
Finally, access: Too many reviews and websites do not yet take into account the new metro line 6. With it, Dong Yue Miao is more easily accessible than ever. The temple is exactly in the middle between Chaoyangmen (which is also on #2) and Dongdaquiao. From the former, head straight EAST on the left side of the road; from the latter, head WEST on the right side. (Both times, you need to cross one big road first.) It's a few minutes of walking.
Written September 20, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
80diapers
Lafayette, CO83 contributions
May 2012 • Family
After living in Beijing for nearly four years, you end up taking LOTS of visitors on "the rounds" of all the BJ tourist attractions. Though nobody has ever heard of this place before I take them, it always ends up among their favorite stops of the trip. This tiny, mostly deserted temple is one of the weirdest, most surreal places you will ever see. Comprised of dozens of "departments" which function much like patron saints in Catholicism, the alcoves here are full of statues in various states of disrepair, and range from prosperous-looking men in beautiful robes (Department for Accumulation of Justifiable Wealth) to the terrifying monsters in the Department of Wandering Ghosts and the Department of Forest Spirits. To say nothing of the Department of Punishment. But the real insights to be gained here are the 5, count them, 5 layers of paperwork bureaucracy that separate a dead Taoist from the final entry to heaven. Get your papers signed, then go the the other dept, then have them signed, then have them checked, then have them re-checked, then back to yet another dept. to get the stamp that you did all the other levels in the right order, then . . . for anyone who has dealt with the Chinese government on anything from visas to residency permits to drivers' licenses, this only goes to show that the more things change, the more they stay the same. Highly, highly recommended.
Extra note--if you are in Beijing during Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) the DongYue temple has the best "real" temple fair. Mice running mazes, candy animals, bb gun shooting, carnival rides, fishing, vendors, lion dancers, jugglers, and all within the walls of the usually solemn, silent temple. A Real China experience that is not to be missed.
Extra note--if you are in Beijing during Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) the DongYue temple has the best "real" temple fair. Mice running mazes, candy animals, bb gun shooting, carnival rides, fishing, vendors, lion dancers, jugglers, and all within the walls of the usually solemn, silent temple. A Real China experience that is not to be missed.
Written April 27, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Joy A
Philippines765 contributions
Oct 2017 • Couples
It is so quiet in this temple. There is plenty to absorb and ponder while walking through the temple. While passing through the different departments, I realized that even if I don't practice Daoism, a lot of their teachings are being taught and practiced in our religion. One Department says like "Fortune comes to those who do good." , is like a practical thing that one must learn by heart. And another Department said that if natural calamities strike on us, it is because people have done something bad. It makes sense, isn't it?
Since this is a temple, some locals come here to pray and burn incense and write their requests on the red drums and red papers which you will find abounding the place.
In some places, you will just hear chanting monks. I think they are praying. So if you want to visit this place do it before 3 in the afternoon.
After visiting this temple, we crossed the street and saw western restaurants. You may want to walk further and go Ritan Park and the Silk Market. These places are within the vicinity so check them out. They are worth the walk and the visit.
Since this is a temple, some locals come here to pray and burn incense and write their requests on the red drums and red papers which you will find abounding the place.
In some places, you will just hear chanting monks. I think they are praying. So if you want to visit this place do it before 3 in the afternoon.
After visiting this temple, we crossed the street and saw western restaurants. You may want to walk further and go Ritan Park and the Silk Market. These places are within the vicinity so check them out. They are worth the walk and the visit.
Written October 9, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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