Great Bell Temple

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  • Address
    北三环西路甲31号, 31a Beisanhuan Xilu, Haidian
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  • Phone
    6225 1843
  • Transport
    bus: 361, 367 or 422
underground rail: Dazhongsi

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Lonely Planet review

This temple houses the biggest bell in China, 6.75m tall and weighing a hefty 46.5 tonnes. The bell is inscribed with Buddhist sutras, comprising more than 227,000 Chinese characters, and decorated with Sanskrit incantations. Clamber up to the circular hall, where there's a small exhibition on bell casting (with some English captions), and chuck a coin through the opening in the top of the bell for luck.

The bell was cast during the reign of Emperor Yongle in 1406, with the tower built in 1733. To get the bell from the foundry to the temple, a shallow canal was dug, and when it froze over in winter, the bell was shunted across the ice by sled.