Fahai Temple

Fahai Temple was built in 1439 under imperial patronage, and its main hall contains murals painted by court artists between 1443 and 1444 that are among the finest surviving Ming wall paintings in China. Covering some two hundred square metres, they show Buddhist deities, attendants and animals in mineral pigments with gold outlining, and details such as the near-transparent gauze over a bodhisattva's shoulder are cited as technical achievements without parallel in the period. To protect them the hall is kept dark and unlit; visitors enter in small groups with a guide who lights sections with a torch, which makes the viewing slow, deliberate and unusually memorable.

What you actually see

• The Ming murals - two hundred square metres of 1440s court painting.
• The torchlight viewing - guides lighting sections in a darkened hall.
• The gold detailing - fine gold line work over mineral pigment.
• The temple setting - a small complex in the hills west of the city.

When to go

April to May and September to October; the temple is far from the centre and rarely busy, but visitor numbers into the mural hall are capped and groups are timed. Checking opening days before travelling matters, since the hall closes periodically.

Honest expectations

Photography inside is completely prohibited. The hall is dark by design and only lit in sections, so the experience is fragmentary. Reaching the temple takes over an hour from central Beijing. Tickets for the mural hall cost considerably more than general entry.

Nearby

Tanzhe Temple lies further west in the hills; central Beijing is east.