The Tanzhe Temple () is a Buddhist temple situated in the Western Hills, a mountainous area in western Beijing. At one time, it was one of the most important temples in the nation. The temple is located near China National Highway 108 in the Mentougou District of Beijing. Built in the Jin Dynasty (266–420), it has an age of around 1,700 years. Tanzhe Temple is one of the oldest temples in Beijing. The area of the entire temple is 100 mu (6.8 hectares), and its arrangement of halls is akin to that found in the Ming and Qing dynasties. History Tanzhe Temple was first established in the 1st year of Yongjia period (307) in Western Jin dynasty (265-317) with the name of Jiafu Temple () and was later renamed Xiuyun Temple () by Kangxi Emperor (1662-1772) in the Qing dynasty (1644-1911). But since there was a dragon pool behind the temple and mulberry trees in the mountain, so people always call it "Tanzhe Temple". For the reason that it was first built earlier than Beijing city, so there is a saying that "there comes first the Tanzhe Temple, then the Beijing city" (). Tanzhe Temple entered the most glorious period in the Qing dynasty (1644-1911), four emperors, namely Kangxi Emperor (1662-1722), Yongzheng Emperor (1723-1735), Qianlong Emperor (1736-1795) and Jiaqing Emperor (1796-1820) all came to Tanzhe Temple to worship Buddha, which elevated its position and attracted more people to the temple. Architecture Most of the existing buildings in the temple are from the Ming and Qing dynasties, and there are pagodas from various historical periods such as the Jin, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. The over 900 rooms and 638 halls still maintain in the style of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) and Qing dynasty (1644-1911). The two "Emperor trees" by the Hall of Three Sages were planted during the Liao Dynasty (907-1125) about 1,000 years ago. The spacious and imposing buildings are arranged in three main northsouth axes. Along the central axis are the Archway, the shanmen, Deveraja Hall, Mahavira Hall and Vairochana Pavilion. The temple's central hall is its Mahavira Hall. in length, wide. Buddhist monks regularly perform religious ceremony here. The temple is divided between the Hall of Abstinence, the Ordination Altar and the Hall of Guanyin. The latter has received fame because of its association with Princess Miaoyan, daughter of Kublai Khan. The princess is said to have