Located at the southern foot of Cuiwei Mountain in the Shijingshan District of the western suburbs of Beijing, construction on the Fahai (Sea of Dharma) Temple was begun in 1439 by the Board of works in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Funds were raised by Li Tong a favourite official eunuch of the Ming Emperor. The temple was completed in 1443 and named by Emperor Yingzong more than 500 years ago.

The temple used to consist of a main hall (Mahavira Hall), four subsidiary halls, a bell tower, a drum tower, and several supplementary rooms. All the buildings were decorated with remarkable murals. But un fortunately, only the main hall and several side rooms survived, making the remaining murals even more precious.

According to historical records, the paintings were executed by famous artisans recruited from all over China under the supervision of renowned court painters.
Covering 236.7 square metres in the Mahavira Hall., the existing murals are distributed on the fan-shaped eastern, western and rear walls, and are considered to be the best-preserved Ming Dynasty murals in China. Experts think it is a wonder that after more than 500 years the murals are still intact and look almost as bright and clear as they were when freshly finished, with an imposing atmosphere of grandeur, thanks to the mineral pigments used for staining the paintings. The 77 figures in the murals show a splendid and dignified grand gathering of Bodhisattvas, male and female, young and old, handsome and ugly, the lifelike celestial beings and entirely different from each other. But their spirits are linked with a unified belief and morale, presenting a pious atmosphere characteristic to such religious occasions. Executed in precious perspective and with a very refined style and meticulous brushwork, the females in the paintings look gentle and the males robust. Women's ornaments and men's armors and weapons are in bold relief, all made from gold thread, employing a unique technique in decoration.

All the figures have distinctively individual characteristics but the portraits of the three principal Bodhisattvas are especially well done. And of the three, the 1.6 metre-high Guanyin (Avolokitesvara) is the most magnificent, looking spirited, affable, pure and far from the mortal world. She is bare-cheated and graceful, with a transparent gauze kerchief draped casually over her shoulders.

Decorated with flowers embroidered with hair thin gold threads, her almost invisible kerchief seems buoyant, allowing the visitor to feel the benevolent goddess breath. Clouds separate the celestial beings from the world of the mortals, manifested by rocks, streams, and such plants as peonies, lilies, lotuses and bananas.

Many Buddhas have small animals around them, which are equally true to life. A white six ranked elephant, moved by Buddha's preaching, sheds tears. The tears just gather and seem to be about to stream down its face at the next blink. A fox looks back at its master, the fine hair and thin veins on its pricked ears cleaxly seen. It is said that these works represent the highest artistic standard of decorative art from the Ming Dynasty. The exquisite creations adhere to traditional designs that prevailed in the Tang ( 618-907 ) and Song ( 960-1279 ) dynasties but with the artisans' individual styles or temperament typical of the Ming Dynasty. The Fahai Temple thus provides a good example of the integration of traditional modes with styles of the period in ancient Chinese paintings. Therefore, some celebrated experts from Beijing's cultural relics and fine art circles treasure the murals of that period in the Fahai Temple. The murals not only enrich the profuse collections of cultural relics in Beijing but also rival Western masterpieces. The murals in the temple are outstanding among the wall paintings of the same period in the world. Compared to the wall paintings of Dunhuang and Yongle Palace, it is unique in its own right with its own salient features. As such these murals tn,~ly do rival Western masterpieces of the Renaissance Period, and merit a visit by every serious traveler interested in the unique history of China.

The drawing technology is superb. It has been preserved for over S00 years without peeling and is still ~ in perfect condition. Even the colours have not faded with the leakage of water. Experts believe that certain elements were mixed into the construction materials as well as into the paint. To find the answer to the riddle is expected to be an important part of the mural studies.

The local government has been paying great attention to the preservation of the temple and especially its murals by investing a large sum of money in restoring the temple.

Beijing's Bureau of Cultural Relics invested 10 million yuan (US$1.2 million) in restoring the Doctor Hall and the Hall of Buddhist Scriptures in the temple, which were destroyed by a fire at the end of the 20th century. The relics authority will preserve all of the original murals. The rebuilding of the halls is just small pact of Beijing's plans for relic protection.