Dongyue Temple, which lies on the north of Chaoyangmen Outer Street, Chaoyang District, is also known as Beijing Folk Custom Museum.

It is a spot of interest on folk customs. It enshrines Emperor Dongyue, the deity of Taishan Mountain. Its first construction in Yanyou reign in the Yuan Dynasty was funded by Zhang Liusun, head of a Taoist school named Zhengyi, and Wu Quanjie, one of his disciples. After frequent expansions in the Ming and Qing dynasties, it came to acquire a three-courtyard layout, with a main courtyard flanked by an east one and a west one. The whole complex covers an area of 0.04 square kilometers, with over 300 ancient buildings that reflect the architectural styles in three dynasties—Yuan, Ming, and Qing. It is the largest temple of Zhengyi school in north China.

The main buildings of the temple are concentrated in the main courtyard. Orderly arranged and magnificent, it was built as an imperial palace. The courtyard has a central axis, on which sit a glazed tile archway, the gate of the temple (already demolished), a gateway, Zhandai Gate, Daizong Hall, and Yude Hall. These are symmetrically flanked by Sanmaojun Hall, Binglinggong Hall, Fucaishen Hall, Guangsishen Hall, 76 sacred offices, and east and west imperial archways. All these buildings are divided into six courtyards which are separate but connected along the central axis.

The temple is well known for housing many figures of deities, couplets and plaques, and stele inscriptions. It enshrines Emperor Dongyue and related deities as well as founders of many trades or professions. The great number of deities it enshrines translates into little difficulty in finding the suitable ones to worship, which has been attracting, since ancient times, a huge number of worshippers. All the gates of the halls are flanked or topped by couplets and plaques inscribed with adages or sayings of great literary and artistic value, exhorting people to do goodness and keep away from evil.

In history the number of steles in the temple had ranked first in Beijing. A saying among old dwellers of Beijing goes to the effect that the number is uncountable, yet records show that it is more than 160. Most of the steles record renovation efforts in the past dynasties and sacrifices offering by common people. Four very special steles have been given funny nicknames in a doggerel well known to old Beijing dwellers. Now there are 89 steles in the east and west “stele forests” in the middle courtyard. After renovation, the temple has been made the only state-run museum of folk customs in Beijing, and named Beijing Folk Custom Museum. In 1999 the main courtyard was open to public.

The temple offers a series of programs for praying for good fortune, such as walking down the fortune road, rounding the fortune tree, and hanging the fortune plaques. The museum holds folk customs exhibitions all year round, and folk-custom garden parties on the Spring Festival, the Dragon Boat Festival, the Moon Festival, and the Double Ninth Festival.

Daiyue Hall: This is the main building of the temple. It was built in 1322, or the 2nd year of Zhizhi reign in the Yuan Dynasty; in the Qing Dynasty it was rebuilt during Emperor Kangxi's reign and renovated during Emperor Qianlong's reign. It enshrines Emperor Dongyue.

Master Zhang Stele: The account of Zhang's career as a Taoist inscribed on it was composed and written by Zhao Mengfu, a calligrapher in the Yuan Dynasty. It is popularly known as the Taoist stele. It lies in the east “stele forest” before Zhang Liusun Temple. It is a national first-class cultural relic.

Three kings and nine ministers: Yude Hall houses the figures of the king of heaven, the king of earth, the king of water, and their military and civil ministers. They were carved of nanmu in 1481, or the 17th year of Chenghua reign in the Ming Dynasty. As classics of ancient religious art, they are national first-class cultural relics.

Address:No.141 Chaoyangmen Outer Street, Chaoyang District, Beijing

Dingle Deity Pond is located to the north of Duanshuling Village of Huaibei Town of Huairou District, Beijing, at the south foot of the Yunmeng Mountains, and 75 kilometers away from the downtown. The 111 National Road passes in front of the gate of the scenic spot. It is a mountain-type scenic spot. It was opened to the tourists in August 1994.

The dingle deity pond covers an area of six square kilometers, and stretches for five kilometers, characterized by its “strangeness, tranquility, elegance and beauty”. There are four Chinese characters of “dingle deity pond” at the gate of the scenic spot, written by famous calligrapher Qi Gong. Due to its unique mountain structure and many years of erosion by wind and rain, many sights have been formed such as Gate Leading to the Sky, Thunder Hit Stone, Moon Pond, Mother-and-son Tortoises, Summit of Stone Man, and Mushroom Cliff. The Gate Leading to the Sky is a huge rock at the entrance of the scenic spot, lying on two erect black stones. There is a white brown huge rock about three meters in height and more than 10 meters in perimeter, one kilometer away from the Gate Leading to the Sky. On top of the huge rock, there is a crack leading from the top to the bottom, at a width of about eight centimeters. This is one of the great wonders of the scenic spot, the Thunder Hit Stone.

There used to be a Dragon King Temple before liberation. The story goes like this: the farmers went to the Dragon King Temple to pray for rain when the drought was terribly serious. The Dragon King ordered the Gods of thunder and lightening to make rains. When the Gods of thunder and lightening were fighting with the drought demon with the sword, they hit the drought demon as well as cut this huge stone into halves. In a secluded place in the south part of the mountain, the streams converge into a pond, with four big characters of “deep love like water” engraved on the cliffs. Going past the Wenquan Zhiyu Pond, Eagle Beak Peak, and the Moon Pond, one can see a huge rock standing erectly beside the road, with the words of “Wonderland” engraved on it. The rock is the natural barrier of the flying falls, which dive from the valley at a height of more than 40 meters, forming a deep pond of about 100 square meters in surface and eight meters in depth. It is said that a deity tortoise is under the sands and stones of the pond, in charge of the weathers. In early days, the people around here all came to pray for rain, and always got satisfying results, so it was reputed as “deity pond”. The activity of “planting trees and visiting garden” is held in April each year. During the period from July to September, the activity of “Going through Deep Valley” is held; The activity of “Picking Fruits in Golden Autumn” is held in October.

Ditan Park (The Temple of Earth) is one of the key historic sites under national protection. It is located in Andingmen Outer Street in Dongcheng District. It was the place where the emperors of the Ming Dynasty and Qing Dynasty offered sacrifices to the Earth. It was the largest as well as the only surviving one of its kind. Sacrifices offered by 14 emperors continued here for 381 years until the fall of the Qing Dynasty in 1912. In 1925, it was made a park open to the public. In 1926, when troops were stationed here, it went into disrepair. In 1938, when Japanese invaders started to build an airport in the western suburbs of Beijing, they ordered residents of the requisitioned area to move here. That was when the park was closed to the public. Since 1949, it has been reopened as a public park.

The temple is also known as the Fangzetan Altar. It was first built in 1530, or the ninth year of Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty. In the Qing Dynasty it was expanded and rebuilt many times. The current layout came into being in the years of Qianlong, when Fangzetan Altar and Earth Deity Shrine, the principal parts of it, were rebuilt.

The park covers an area of 430,000 square meters, 374,000 square meters of which is officially managed. Facing north, it is encircled by two layers of square walls, which divide it into the inner part and the outer part. The inner wall has four gates in it, while the outer wall has only one gate in its west side. This latter gate is connected by an Altar Street to the Andingmen Outer Street. At the west end of the street is a wooden three-bay archway, with four pillars and seven layers, which serves to guide tourists to the temple.

The central axis of the inner part is slightly inclined to the east. The main buildings are divided into three sections. The Fangzetan Altar and the Earth Deity Hall are on the central axis. To the west of Fangzetan Altar are the sacred warehouse and the Slaughter Pavilion. To its northwest are such subsidiary buildings as Fast Hall, the bell tower, and the sacred stable. The inner eaves of the buildings are decorated with colored double-phoenix-and-imperial-seal patterns. The cypresses around them give them a solemn look.

Fangzetan Altar, the main part of the temple, used to be the place for grand sacrifices made by the imperial family. It is known to common people as the Worship Platform. The square platform, symbolizing the earth, is encircled by a ditch symbolizing a river. The temple's south-facing layout and its yin-number paving signify the earth's being yin, and the yellow of the glazed tiles signify the color of the earth. The five-bay Earth Deity Hall, which lies to the south of the Fangzetan Altar, faces north. It is encircled by a wall, which has a gate in its north side. The tops of the wall and the gate tower are covered with yellow glazed tiles. In the hall is a spirit tablet of the Deity of Earth. The colored double-phoenix-and-imperial-seal mural in the hall dates back to the years of Qianlong.

In the park are large vacant lots covered with over 36,000 trees and 82,000 square meters of meadow. There are 174 trees that are over 200 years old. The three ancient cypresses outside the Fangzetan Altar are quite special. They are called “the generals”. The Old General has a girth of 4.8 meters; the Great General, 5.15 meters; and the One-armed General, 3.16 meters. The last one has been wounded so many times that only one branch remains, hence its name.

In the park are kept some ritual vessels specially made by government-run porcelain kilns in Jingdezhen, Jiangxi Province for imperial sacrifices during Emperor Guangxu's reign in the Qing Dynasty. These genuine vessels, well preserved, are of great historical value. They are designated as second-class national cultural relics.

Before the founding of the People's Republic, the park had been overgrown with weeds, and the houses had fallen into serious disrepair. Since 1949, as the country became wealthier, all the houses, such as the Fast Hall, the Fangzetan Altar, and the Deity Hall, have been renovated; the archway and the bell tower have been rebuilt. Some new scenic spots, such as the Peony Garden, the Jifang Garden, the China Rose Garden, and the Ginkgo Path, have been added. The environs of the park have also been extensively renovated. As a result, its former solemnity has been restored, and it looks lively with the additional attractions.

Since 1985, before every Spring Festival, a cultural fair has been held in the park for 21 times. The fair features a performance of offering sacrifice to the earth as it was done in the Qing Dynasty as well as that of folk customs. It enjoys a reputation at home and abroad for its artistic value and distinctive Chinese national features.

Address: Andingmen Outer Street, Dongcheng District, Beijing

Dajue Temple is a featured imperial temple. Tourists not only pay a visit and worship the Buddha, but also accommodate, have dinner, conference, appreciate tea and enjoy the tea culture performances.

From early to mid April, Dajue Magnolia Festival focusing on the ancient magnolias in Dajue Temple. It is the first choice for Beijing people to have an outing in spring. During the festival, flower and tea appreciation, tea-making performance, magnolia banquet and other activities meeting market requirements are available.

From late September to mid November, West Mountain Ginkgo Festival themed “attention to affection, care for the aged” with the thousand-year-old ginkgo trees as carrier. During the festival, tourists may visit the Exhibitions of Ginkgo Culture, Ginkgo Miniascape, photography and others, or attend the West Mountain Fortune Tie, i.e., tie the golden fortune belt representing your love and blessing to your beloved on the ginkgo trees.

Cuandixia Scenic Area is located in western Beijing, about 90 kilometers from downtown Beijing. The village was built during the reign of Emperor Yongle of the Ming Dynasty, and is the best-preserved ancient village.

The ancient village was constructed against a mountain slope, under the control at the north-south central axial line with Mountain Longtou as the center. The 76 fine and neat quadrangular dwellingchange along the terrain, expand down the slope in the form of a fan, and are concentrated on the limited land area. The entire village is neatly and harmoniously structured. A bird's eye view of the village finds that the village is like a shoe-shaped gold ingot.

With its unique architectural arts and natural landscapes with a karst terrain, the village is the most ideal place for sketching, photographing and shooting movies and TV programs.

In recent years, Cuandixia village won such titles as national class-A scenic area, major historic site under national protection, China's famous historical and cultural village, China's ancient village with best tourism values, China's outstanding tourist destination and city-level fold custom tourist village.

Cuandixia village has 40 rural families operating home-style tourism, and has the capacity of accommodating more than 760 visitors at the same time. The villagers provide quality catering and accommodation services to visitors.