Along with the Imperial Palace and Tiananmen Square, one of the most famous landmarks of Beijing is the Temple of Heaven, in the southern part of town. It's in every guidebook and about every tourist that passed through the city since Marco Polo has been there.
What a lot of people don't know is that hidden in what is now the Russian shopping district lies the TEMPLE OF HELL HELl HEll Hell hell *echoes and fades just like in Fraggle Rock*
In reality, it is a Daoist temple called Dongyue, which was named after Mount Tai, one of the Five Sacred Mountains of Daoism.
New and old contrast in today's Beijing. A Walmart is just across the street and about 3 Starbucks.
The place is known informally as the Temple of Hell because of it's scary statues of death and punishment.
Well, that seems like an awesome place to bring the kids, right?
School kids go on a field trip to see statues of demons killing humans and other scary stuff.
There were 76 "departments" of all sorts of sins, and then some others dedicated to paperwork, such as the "Department of Filing Forms" and the "Department of Distribution of Medication". This was the "Department of Suicides".
Some people come to worship these gods and ask for their help. They go door to door with incense and bow to the statues.
The school kids could care less about the statues. All they wanted to do was run around.
I call this one "Donnie Darko". Didn't know he was a Daoist god.
In the entrance of many temples and palaces in China, there is an elevation. Legend says this is to keep spirits from coming in. It also works with toddlers.
In the back of every single room there was what I believe is a Daoist Priest, looking over this big bureaucratic underworld. All rooms were dark, damp and humid.
Shy little girl walked past in silence. I wonder if she had a good night's sleep after this visit.
This department was of Nature's Creatures. On the left you see a ghost with a twig on his head. Now imagine him talking.
The departments are small rooms full of statues. The temple has been in this place since 1319. Apparently these statues are from 2002.
Durham, NC, fairly represented at the Dongyue Temple.
On the other side of a busy street in front of the temple is a large gate.
A group of Daoist priests were there practicing their instruments. I do have video and will edit and post them some time in the future. I think it was the first time they ever picked up an instrument... or they were actually supposed so sound like they were in hell.
And tonight when you go to sleep, remember this face. He'll take you to the other side. MUAHAHA *Vincent Price's evil laugh from Thriller*