Originally built in 1271, the Miàoyīng Temple slumbers beneath its huge, distinctive, chalk-white Yuán-dynasty pagoda, which towers over the surrounding hútòng . It was, when it was built, the tallest structure in Dàdū (the Yuan-dynasty name for Běijīng), and even today it is the tallest Tibetan-style pagoda in China.
The temple has been under extensive renovation for some years, and was still closed at the time of research, but previous highlights of a visit here included the diverse collection of Buddhist statuary: the Hall of the Great Enlightened One (大觉宝殿; Dàjué Bǎodiàn), for example, glittered splendidly with hundreds of Tibetan Buddhist effigies. After you finish here, exit the temple and wander the tangle of local alleyways for street-market action and earthy shades of hútòng life.
