Beijing’s Dashiqiao Hutong: The Centennial Changes of a Ming Dynasty Ancient Temple

West of Beijing’s Old Gulou Street lies an unassuming lane named Dashiqiao Hutong. It stretches east to Old Gulou Street and ends in a blind alley to the west, closed to vehicle traffic.

In its middle section, it intersects with Shuangsi Hutong, Bifeng Hutong, and Xiaoba Daowan Hutong. Known as “Dashiqiao (Big Stone Bridge)” since the Qing Dynasty, it was officially designated Dashiqiao Hutong in 1965.

Two high-ranking military officers of the Qing Dynasty once resided in this hutong: one was the Right Wing Commander of the Metropolitan Police Department (a rank equivalent to the second grade in the Qing official hierarchy), and the other was the Vice Commander of the Plain Yellow Banner (also a second-grade military officer). Today, however, their mansions have all been turned into residential courtyards for ordinary people.

The Hidden Ancient Temple: Nianhua Temple

The most distinctive spot in the hutong is Courtyard No.61, which harbors the secret of an ancient temple—Nianhua Temple. First built in the 9th year of the Wanli Reign of the Ming Dynasty (1581), it has a history of more than 440 years to this day.

Back then, Feng Bao, a eunuch in the imperial palace, commissioned the temple on the order of the Empress Dowager Xiaoding for Pianrong, a famous monk from Sichuan. Its original name was a lengthy one: “Imperial Protector and Grace Repaying Thousand-Buddha Chan Temple”, later shortened to Qianfo Temple (Thousand-Buddha Temple).

In the 11th year of the Yongzheng Reign of the Qing Dynasty (1733), the emperor ordered the renovation of the temple and bestowed it with a new name—Nianhua Temple, which has been in use ever since.

The Temple’s Transformations Through the Ages

This ancient temple has undergone numerous transformations over the more than a century that followed:

• 1926: Nianhua Temple Primary School was established on the temple grounds. Young monks here studied both Buddhist scriptures and Chinese literature.
• 1939: After Wu Peifu, a renowned warlord of the time, passed away, his coffin was laid in state for as long as seven years in the Wusheng Shrine to the east of the temple.
• After 1949: The temple was taken over by Renmin University of China and successively served as the campus for the university’s affiliated middle school, and later a printing house. During this period, the Mahavira Hall, the temple’s main hall, was demolished and rebuilt into a factory building.
• 1950s: The bronze Buddha statues in the temple’s Thousand-Buddha Pavilion were moved and preserved separately in the White Dagoba Temple and Fayuan Temple.
• 2014 to present: The temple was relocated, and a large-scale restoration project was launched. Currently, the heritage site is under renovation and temporarily closed to the public, with a sign of the Buddhist Association hanging at the entrance.

 Dashiqiao Hutong Today: Ancient Temple Standing Beside High-Rises

In the middle section of Dashiqiao Hutong, many old courtyards have been demolished to make way for residential buildings, including a relatively high-end residential complex. Thus, the hutong presents a unique scene today: on one side stands the Ming Dynasty ancient temple under restoration, and on the other, modern residential buildings.

 A Single Hutong, A Three-Dimensional History Book

From an imperial temple of the Ming Dynasty, to a primary school and a place for funeral rites in the Republican period, then to a university campus and a factory in the People’s Republic of China, and finally back to a cultural heritage site under restoration; from the grand mansions of Qing military officers, to today’s multi-family courtyards for ordinary people and modern residential complexes. Dashiqiao Hutong is like an open three-dimensional history book, vividly showing how the lives of temples, officials, and ordinary people in Beijing’s hutongs have intertwined and evolved with the changes of history.