Three kilometers north of downtown Huairou, Hongluo Temple has welcomed pilgrims since 338 CE, when it was founded as one of the first Buddhist monasteries in northern China. The complex rests against wooded Hongluo Mountain and faces a quiet lake, a setting long praised for its harmony of mountain, water and forest. Inside the grounds, the Imperial Bamboo Grove, two 1,100-year-old ginkgo trees and a wisteria-wrapped pine mark the seasons with spring shoots, summer shade, golden leaves and winter green, while pine scent and incense drift through prayer halls. A paved path climbs past cliff carvings to a ridge-top pavilion that looks across the treetops toward Yanqi Lake, giving visitors an easy half-day walk above the suburbs.