Tongjiao Temple

Tongjiao Temple, located in Zhenxian Hutong, Dongzhimen Inner Street, Dongcheng District, Beijing, is a nunnery with a history dating back to the Ming Dynasty. It was originally built by a eunuch in the Ming Dynasty, and was rebuilt as a nunnery in the Qing Dynasty and renamed "Tongjiao Zen Forest." In 1942, Kaihui Shengyu expanded the temple Tongjiao Temple, changed the mountain gate to face east, relocated the residents around the temple, expanded the temple area to more than 4 mu, and renamed the temple "Tongjiao Temple." In the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China, the halls were dilapidated, the Buddha statues were destroyed, and only one elderly bhikkhuni (nun) lived in the temple. In 1942, two bhikkhunis from Fujian, Kaihui and Shengyu, lived in Guangci Temple in Beijing. They decided to rebuild Tongjiao Temple, raised funds to renovate the main hall, and built the south and north buildings, the chanting hall, the five-view hall, the great hall, and other buildings. In 1978, the people's government implemented the policy of freedom of religious belief, rebuilt Tongjiao Temple, recalled the bhikkhunis who had left the temple in previous years, and resumed the activities that had been suspended for many years. In 1983, Tongjiao Temple was designated as a national key temple in the Han area.