Golden Ridge Upper-cloister is located at the foot of the Great Wall at the junction of Beijing and Chengde. Strictly speaking, it is not a Zen temple, but a place for people to meditate in the context of traditional Zen and contemporary culture.

 The intention of the design is first implicit in the careful site-selection. Located in a col facing the Great Wall to the southwest, the site also faces Beijing. This is similar to the positioning of Foguang Temple in Shanxi Wutai Mountain whose Great East Hall faces the valley - the direction of Chang'an City. In terms of spatial composition, the small Cloister is also analogous to Foguang Temple. In Foguang temple, people first enter a courtyard, then climb through a steep staircase to reach a high base, and finally enter the main hall and look back at the valley.