The Beijing Stele Art Museum is located at No. 24, Ba Shi Qiao Village, outside the West Zhi Men, Haidian District. It is the first specialized museum to display stele artifacts from the Beijing area. The museum was planned in 1982 and officially established in 1987. It covers an area of 20,000 square meters and was built on the site of the Zhenjue Temple constructed during the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty (A.D. 1403-1424). The Zhenjue Temple, commonly known as the Five Pagodas Temple, was built by Emperor Yongle of the Ming Dynasty. He received five golden Buddhas and the design of the Vajra Throne Pagoda from an Indian Buddhist. The Vajra Throne Pagoda was constructed according to the design, with a tower body filled with exquisitely carved stone carvings. The content is very rich, including a total of 1561 statues of the Five Buddhas, as well as images of Bodhisattvas, Arhats, and the mounts of the Five Buddhas such as lions, peacocks, golden-winged birds, elephants, and horses. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, most of the buildings in the temple were destroyed by fire, leaving only the Vajra Throne Pagoda. Henceforth, people only referred to it as the Five Pagodas Temple. Inside the museum, centered around the Vajra Throne, there are eight exhibition areas on the east, north, and west sides. They are classified according to the content of the stone carvings, forming an exhibition style of ‘all stars worshiping the moon’.The museum is open all year round from Tuesday to Sunday from 09:00 to 17:00. It is also open on New Year’s Day, Spring Festival, Qingming Festival, Labor Day, Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, and National Day from 09:00 to 17:00.
