Beijing Ancient Village: Lingshui Village

Lingshui Village is located in the Mentougou District of Beijing. It roughly came into being in the era of Liao and Jin Dynasties. It is a large ancient village, where the majority of residences date from Liao, Jin, Yuan and Qing Dynasty. In these dynasties, China was dominated by the minorities instead of Han nationality.

In this village, you can see many relics of ancient temples which used to house the statues of divinities worshipped by the ancient Chinese. The village is dotted with many old, famous trees which are of great historical meanings.

Entering Lingshui Village, you will feel the time-honored cultural atmosphere there. The elegance of the centuries-old history and tradition is totally shown on the outdated walls and bricks, the broken temple pillars and the traditional style of the remaining houses. Even those old trees seem to bear in their mind the image of ancient pupils reading the poets and songs of Tang and Song Dynasties. Lingshui Temple was the oldest temple in Lingshui village. It is also considered as the first temple in Beijing.

Posted by Wu Hao on Jan 29,2012

re-edited by Sophia on Feb 16,2014