At best it will take you 45 minutes to enjoy, but the Temple of Past Emperors is probably the most important Beijing tourist attraction you’ve never heard of.
Located on Fuchengmennei just west of the center, its importance is given away by the fact that the magnificent buildings inside have yellow roof tiles – a privilege reserved only for royalty, and which you’ll only find in a handful of other places, namely the Forbidden City.
But the best bit about this Grade A, 500-year-old tourist attraction is the fact that it’s almost always deserted due to its location, meaning those who make the effort to go will have it all to themselves.
Regarded as one of the few remaining ‘masterpieces’ of ancient architecture by the Chinese, the 21,00sqm complex was built in the Ming Dynasty as a place to worship the emperors of previous dynasties. Each emperor enshrined in the temple was represented by a stone tablet, but sadly most were destroyed during Mao’s Cultural Revolution. Now it is 188 replicas that sit on the dais’ in the grand hall surrounded by richly coloured candles, but they still give a sense of the grandeur that must have been involved in offerings during the Ming and Qing dynasties.
These days you might only find a local sketching one of the halls, or a child running unhindered between the bushy cypress trees in the grounds, but a visit to The Temple of Past Emperors is a thoroughly pleasant experience and for students of Chinese imperial architecture, an unmatched treat.
Temple of Past Emperors 131 Fuchengmennei Dajie, Xicheng district. Entrance 20RMB. Open 9am-4pm daily.