The Forest of Pagodas at Silver Mountain is located in the northwest of Haizi Village, about 30 kilometers northeast of Changping County in Beijing.
A number of temples in Beijing have many well-preserved forests of pagodas, but the one at Silver Mountain has the most distinct features. The site is located at Guyanshou Temple at the southern foot of Silver Mountain in Haizi Village, Changping County. As early as the Liao (916-1125) and Jin (1115-1234) periods, areas around Silver Mountain were filled with numerous temples. It is said there were more than 70 temples, both large and small, at that time, the largest being Fahua Temple built in 1125 during the Jin Dynasty. The forest of pagodas at Silver Mountain refers to the tomb pagodas at this temple.
The present group comprises seven pagodas, five of which were built during the Jin period and the remaining two, during the Yuan period (1271-1368). The five Jin pagodas are similar in style: they are all brick pagodas 20 to 30 meters high with multi-layered eaves. The pagodas have hugeSumeru bases decorated with exquisite carvings like those seen on the body of the first floor. The two pagodas of the Yuan Dynasty are comparably small. One of them has multi-layered eaves and the other combines multi-layered eaves with a dome shape; both reflect the typical features of the Yuan period. The tomb pagodas possess the architectural style from the Jin and Yuan periods, providing precious archaeological material for the historical study of Buddhism in Beijing.
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