When traveling and visiting religious sites in Beijing, tourists must strictly abide by the following behavioral norms:
Respect religious beliefs and venues: When entering religious venues, one should keep quiet, respect local believers and religious ceremonies, and avoid behaviors that are disrespectful to religion, such as making loud noises, touching things at will, or adopting inappropriate postures.
Dress appropriately: When visiting religious sites, dress appropriately and avoid wearing revealing or inappropriate clothes. For example, do not wear short skirts or shorts, and be cautious when wearing clothes with a high degree of skin exposure.
Abide by the photo-taking regulations: When taking photos in religious sites, one must follow the relevant regulations. Nowadays, there are often prompts in areas where photo-taking is not allowed. Tourists must pay attention. At the same time, taking photos of the deities is prohibited. On the one hand, the deities in historical temples are also cultural relics, and taking photos will cause damage. On the other hand, it is also a respect for faith.
Follow the visiting etiquette: Generally speaking, temples are visited from left to right in a clockwise direction, including entering the temple and the halls. When entering the hall, do not step on the threshold with your feet.
Standardize the act of burning incense: When burning incense, take three sticks and light them. You can extinguish them by swinging them left and right or fanning them with your hand. It is strictly forbidden to blow them out with your mouth. When offering incense, keep your left hand outside and your right hand inside, raise both hands horizontally to your chest, and perform the salutation three times. After the ceremony, insert the three incense sticks into the incense burner together with your left hand. At the same time, one should pay attention to one’s words and deeds when burning incense and maintain solemnity.
Respect religious customs: Different religions have different customs and regulations. Tourists should understand and respect them in advance. For example, in Buddhist temples, people usually eat vegetarian food. Tourists are not allowed to bring in meaty food and alcoholic beverages.
Keep the environment clean and tidy: In religious sites, it is necessary to keep the environment clean and tidy, do not litter, and implement the requirements of garbage classification. At the same time, we should take good care of tourism resources, not trample on flowers and plants, and not chase or feed animals randomly.
