Lingshui Village

 

Essentials of the Lingshui Village

Chinese Name: 灵水村 Pronunciation: Língshuǐ Cūn

Recommended Time for Visit: 1 Day

Address: Zhaitang Town, Mentougou District, Beijing, China

Building Time: The Liao Dynasty (907-1125) and the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234)

Best Visiting Season: Spring and Autumn (March to June, September to October)

 

Admission Ticket Fare: 20 yuan

• Note:

1. Children under 6 years old or 1.2 meters are free of charge.

2. Juveniles between 6 and 18 years old, seniors aged 60 and above enjoy half price.

 

Opening Hours: 8:30-17:00

• Note: Online reservation is required; during the pandemic period, the Lingshui Village Museum, Lingshui Academy, and other activities were temporarily closed.

 

Overview of the Lingshui Village

Since the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1636-1912) Dynasties, the Lingshui Village has had many talents who were distinguished in their pursuit of scholarly honor and official rank. The village was well-known for its large number of Juren (a successful candidate in the imperial examinations at the provincial level in the Ming and Qing Dynasties). The village is also well-known for its natural scenery and heritage sites. In 2018, the Lingshui Village was selected into the List of First Municipal Traditional Villages in Beijing.  

 
The Lingshui Village only has 200-plus families, but people here have been pursuing refined culture since ancient times. Since 1375, the village has established Shexue (a form of rural enlightenment education for children under 12) and private schools. Even by the beginning of the modern Republic of China, six villagers graduated from Yenching University (Yanjing University), which signifies the continuity of pursuing knowledge at the village. It is rare for a village like Lingshui to develop a deep cultural heritage.
 

The Lingshui Village is surrounded by mountains and rivers, embodying the natural pattern of “Harmony Between Nature and Men”. Besides, its residential dwellings are the typical model of the rural houses in the Ming and Qing Dynasties in northern China and are well preserved till today. There are more than 20 houses built in the Ming Dynasty and more than 100 built in the Qing Dynasty.
 

Moreover, the Lingshui Village is a film and television base. On the small mound with the Ganoderma lucidum cypress, there are several red-walled brick houses with large-character slogans on the wall, indicating it is a film and television base.
 

In the Lingshui Village, there are farmhouses run by the villagers. You can live in the farmyard and taste the farmer’s dishes. These farmyards have wooden beds, instead of “kang”, a kind of traditional bed in the north of China made of adobe or brick. If you feel tired or just want to experience the rural customs, you can enjoy the food in those farmhouses.
 

In spring and autumn, the climate is moderate in Beijing. It is the best time for a visit. In spring, it is recommended to come to Lingshui to appreciate monuments and get close to nature. Autumn has a pleasant climate, and yellow leaves are very good-looking, so it is a pretty good time to go out to have fun at Lingshui.

 

History of the Lingshui Village

Under the imperial examination system of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, there were 22 Juren (provincial graduate) and 2 Jinshi (the highest and final degree in the imperial examination).

In 1375, the village established Shexue and many private schools.

In 1906, a new school in the Lingshui Village was built.

 

Big Events Happened in the Lingshui Village

On October 11, 2013, Hunan Satellite TV invited Lin Zhiying, Guo Tao, Tian Liang, and other Chinese celebrities to the Lingshui Village to shoot a large-scale parent-child program “Where Are We Going, Dad?”. This village is famous not only for its original ecology but also for celebrity allusions and historical relics. No wonder this program had chosen this place. The program introduced well-preserved dwellings and the profound cultural heritage in the village, which was quite an influential advertisement for the village.

 

Must-visit Attractions at the Lingshui Village

Lingquan Temple

It is the earliest recorded temple in the Lingshui Village and the earliest recorded Buddhist temple in Beijing. The Lingquan Temple was established in the Han Dynasty (202BC-220AD). In the mountain village, Buddhism, Daoism, Confucianism, and Catholicism coexist, forming a unique religious phenomenon.
 

Based on records, visitors can see the grand scale of the Lingquan Temple and the once exuberant incense. There is one mountain gate, one ancient locust tree, and two ginkgo trees. One of the ginkgo trees is a hermaphrodite, and it bears golden fruits every year, which is regarded as a gift from this ancient temple to future generations.

Juren Houses

There are many former residences of ancient Juren in the Lingshui Village. They are mostly ancient Chinese courtyard houses with three courtyards or five courtyards, also with gate towers, screen walls, high steps, large slab doors, large halls, carved beams and columns, thick walls, simple and elegant brick carvings, and floral decorations. This is a must-visit destination.

 

Story of the Lingshui Village

The ginkgo tree is known as a “living fossil”. In the ruins of the Lingquan Temple, there are two tall ginkgo trees with a history of over several hundred years, which are national second-class ancient trees. Both of the trees were originally male and could not bear fruit, but one of the ginkgo trees on the west side had a female “spine” of 120 centimeters long.
 

Some people said that the tree’s “spine” was grown by the ancestors grafting the female branch on the male tree. It seems that the monks or villagers who lived here had mastered the superb technique of grafting ginkgo trees hundreds of years ago. This ancient and mysterious “hermaphrodite” ginkgo tree in the Lingshui Village always attracts people to come to the village.

 

How to Get to the Lingshui Village

By Taxi

Chinese: 请带我去灵水村。English: Please take me to the Lingshui Village.

If you go to the Lingshui Village from the center of Beijing (Grand Hyatt Beijing), it takes about 2 hours (about 300 yuan).

If you go to the Lingshui Village from Beijing Capital International Airport, it takes about 2 hours and 15 minutes (about 400 yuan).

If you go to the Lingshui Village from Beijing Daxing International Airport, it takes about 2 hours and 20 minutes (about 430 yuan).

If you go to the Lingshui Village from Beijing West Train Station, it takes about 1 hour and 45 minutes (about 265 yuan).

If you go to the Lingshui Village from Beijing South Train Station, it takes about 2 hours (about 300 yuan).