Cibei Nunnery

Located on a terrace on the Central lsle in Taoran Park in Xuanwu District, and also called Avalokitesvara Nunnery, Cibei Nunnery was built in the Yuan Dynasty.

On the temple gate are carved the characters meaning “Ancient Temple of Mercy.” Inside the gate there is a wooden board bearing the words “Tao Ran” inscribed by Jiang Zao, and official of the Ministry of Works during the reign of Qing Emperor Kangxi.

The nunnery preserves steles with passages from the Buddhist scriptures, images of Buddha and incantations in scribed on all four sides of them, dating from the Liao Dynasty.

The Avalokitesvara Nunnery was rebuilt in the second year under the reign of Emperor Kangxi. The two pieces of stones carved with “Notes on Tao Ran Pavilion” and “Ode to Tao Ran” are inlaid on the southern wall of the Open Pavilion. The nunnery also houses a cultural relics exhibition displaying cultural relics about revolutionaries’ activities in Tao Ran Pavilion in modern times.