In the shadow of the Bird's Nest

Those planning to head up to the Olympic Green this weekend to catch the 2008 China Athletics Open at the Bird's Nest, should keep their eye out for the small Beiding Niang Niang Temple that stands just a few hundred meters south of the Water Cube. The 500-year-old temple is currently fenced in and not really lit up, so it's very easy to walk past without noticing as you marvel instead at the nice lights flickering across the bubbly exterior of the Water Cube. The Temple is located just east of the southwest entrance to the Olympic Green, directly south of the Water Cube, which was moved 100m north of its originally planned position so as not to impact on the integrity of the temple.

The temple was built in the Ming Dynasty and is one of five Niang Niangtemples that surrounded the imperial capital, four located on the outskirts of the city in each of the cardinal directions and a fifth temple just south of the Imperial City itself. Each of these Niang Niang temples were devoted to worship of a Daoist goddess of fertility, who was said to be the daughter of Tai Shan, and catered to ordinary residents of the agricultural land outside the walled city.

The temple underwent repairs during the Qing Dynasty and in more recent times, was known for having a lively Temple Fair. But when an earthquake struck in 1976 (we're guessing it was tremors from the huge quake in nearby Tangshan) the temple was damaged and was later turned into a primary school before gradually falling into disrepair. In 2003, the temple was listed as a protected site by the Beijing Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage and a project to rebuild some of the original structures inside the temple was undertaken. Metropolis (one of our lesser-known competitors in the English-language magazine market) report that the temple is likely to be used to house an exhibition devoted to the achievements of modern Chinese women, or perhaps become a modern art gallery.

Links and Sources
Inhabitat: Beijing's Olympic Green
Metropolis: North Niang Niang Temple
International Herald Tribune: Beijing salvages 2 temples from 2008 Olympics building boom
Sohu: 延伸北京古都文脉 水立方为北顶娘娘庙修缮北移
Beijing 2008: 延伸北京古都文脉 “水立方”为北顶娘娘庙修缮北移百米
Wangjingol.com: image
Sohu Blog: Image
YHA China.com: image
Beijing Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage: 朝阳区北顶娘娘庙遗址保护古建修缮工程中标公告