Beishan Tulou Taoist Temple 北山土楼观

About Beishan Tulou Taoist Temple

The Qinghai provincial government's page on the site records that the temple's original name was Tulou Shan and that it is also known as Beichan Temple, and places it at the eastern end of Chengbei district, backed by Dadunling and with the Huangshui river on its west. It describes the peak as 300 chi high and cut as if by an axe, with red and white rock layers alternating and stacked as one body yet distinct in layers, and records that Ningshou pagoda stands among the trees on the summit while the old caves are set into the cliff at mid-height, that the open-air Vajra figures were formed naturally through centuries of wind and rain erosion, and that the halls of the old temple stand close together. The same page calls the site a Taoist temple and puts its halls and caves at 6,806 m² of floor area within a site of 101 mu, with more than 60,000 evergreen trees and perennial flowering plants planted there so that the old buildings stand among pines, cypresses and beds of flowers. It prints the site's address as 427 Qilian Road West, Chengbei district, Xining, and states that the temple is 3 km from the city centre.

What to look for

• The alternating red and white rock layers of the cliff face, which the page describes as stacked as one body yet distinct in layers
• The old caves set into the cliff at mid-height
• Ningshou pagoda standing among the trees on the summit
• The open-air Vajra figures, which the page says were formed naturally through centuries of wind and rain erosion
• The halls of the old temple, which the page says stand close together, and the evergreens and perennial flowering plants planted around them

Location & getting there

Getting to Beishan Tulou Taoist Temple

Check which interiors and courtyards are accessible. Active places of worship and protected monuments may have different visitor rules.

• Search for 北山土楼观 with 西宁市 and 城北区.