Yonghe Temple (Lama Temple) 雍和宫

Welcome to Yonghe Temple — the Lama Temple — in Beijing. Today we'll walk the central axis from south to north, taking in the Archway Courtyard, Zhaotai Gate, the Bell and Drum Towers, the Hall of the Heavenly Kings, the stele pavilion and Bronze Mount Sumeru, the Main Hall, the Hall of Eternal Blessing, the four dratsangs, the Hall of the Wheel of the Law, the Pavilion of Ten Thousand Happinesses, and finally the Hall of Achievement and Peace.

Let's start with a quick look at where Yonghe Temple came from — its backstory is remarkable. In the 33rd year of Kangxi, 1694, this site began as a residence that the Kangxi Emperor granted to his fourth son, Yinzhen, and was known as the Prince Yong Mansion. When Yinzhen ascended the throne as the Yongzheng Emperor, the mansion was elevated to an imperial palace and renamed Yonghe Palace. Then in the ninth year of Qianlong, 1744, the Qianlong Emperor — seeking to pacify the frontier and strengthen ties with the northwestern ethnic groups — converted it into a Gelug school Tibetan Buddhist monastery. So Yonghe Temple is a monastery built from an emperor's former residence, and it held the highest official rank of any Buddhist temple in the country during the mid-to-late Qing dynasty. The complex covers more than 66,000 square meters and contains over a thousand halls and chambers, arranged along the central axis in seven successive courtyards and five tiers of halls, blending the cultures of the Han, Manchu, Mongolian, and Tibetan peoples.

We are now standing in the Archway Courtyard, the southernmost section of the complex. It holds three memorial archways arranged in a "pin" formation, each bearing an inscription: "Huanhai Zunqin," "Cilong Baoye," and "Fuyan Jinsha." Notice the archway to the north: it is of the three-bay, four-column, nine-eave style — the highest rank — symbolizing imperial supremacy. The east and west archways are of the seven-eave style. These three archways were once built of precious golden-thread nanmu timber, but were damaged by Japanese forces in 1939 and later rebuilt in reinforced concrete. The plaques that the Qianlong Emperor personally inscribed appear in four scripts — Manchu, Chinese, Mongolian, and Tibetan — a direct expression of the Qing dynasty's respect for and synthesis of its multi-ethnic cultures.

Walking north, the great yellow-roofed gate ahead is the main entrance to Yonghe Temple — Zhaotai Gate. Founded in 1694, it originally had a green glazed-tile roof. After the Yongzheng Emperor died, his coffin rested here, and the roof was subsequently upgraded to yellow glazed tiles, the color reserved for the imperial family. The plaque above the gate reads "Zhaotai Gate" — again in Manchu, Chinese, Mongolian, and Tibetan, inscribed by Qianlong — meaning "to proclaim and exalt peace." An imperial palanquin path reserved for the emperor stands in front of the gate. Through Zhaotai Gate, we'll head to the Bell Tower and Drum Tower on either side.

Inside Zhaotai Gate, two towers flank you on either side — the Bell Tower to the east and the Drum Tower to the west. Both were built in the ninth year of Qianlong, 1744, when Yonghe Temple was converted into a monastery. Take a look at these two structures: both have double-eave hip-and-gable roofs covered in yellow glazed tiles, matching the architectural style of the Forbidden City and conveying imperial grandeur. The Bell Tower houses a bronze bell; the Drum Tower holds a large drum — used in their day for timekeeping and to accompany religious ceremonies. The painted decoration on both buildings features the motif of two dragons playing with a pearl.

Further north stands the Hall of the Heavenly Kings — also called Yonghe Gate Hall — which serves as the monastery's main gate. It was originally the main gate of the Prince Yong Mansion, known as "Yonghe Gate," and became the Hall of the Heavenly Kings when the compound was converted into a monastery. The hall itself is a symbol of the fusion of Han and Tibetan Buddhism. Enter the hall and look straight ahead: at the center stands a statue of the Cloth-Bag Monk, an incarnation of Maitreya, always smiling, symbolizing joy and wisdom. On either side stand the imposing Four Heavenly Kings — Dhritarashtra of the East holds a pipa lute, Virudhaka of the South a sword, Virupaksha of the West a serpent, and Vaishravana of the North a banner. The implements they carry together form a phonetic play on the phrase "favorable winds and timely rains." Behind the hall stands a guardian statue of Skanda holding a vajra scepter. One more detail to notice before you move on: on either side of Maitreya stands a nine-tiered longevity pagoda carved from zitan rosewood, each approximately three meters tall and covered with 274 statues of the Amitayus Buddha and White Tara. After the Hall of the Heavenly Kings, we'll see the famous stele and the Bronze Mount Sumeru just behind it.

Past the Hall of the Heavenly Kings, the octagonal stele pavilion on the central axis houses a stone stele of considerable weight — the Qianlong Emperor's imperial essay "On Lamas." The pavilion was built in the 57th year of Qianlong, 1792, with a double-eave octagonal pointed roof covered in yellow glazed tiles and open on all four sides.

This stele is far more than a religious artifact — it is an important governing document. The text is engraved in four scripts: Manchu, Chinese, Mongolian, and Tibetan. In it, the Qianlong Emperor personally sets out the Qing dynasty's policy for managing Tibetan Buddhist affairs: introducing the origins and development of Tibetan Buddhism, explaining the Qing government's stance on protecting it, analyzing the origins and drawbacks of the living-Buddha reincarnation system, and formally establishing the Golden Urn lottery system — a method of drawing lots from a golden urn to identify reincarnated living Buddhas, from that point forward requiring central government approval for all such recognitions. This stele, in effect, carved the principle of "direct central government authority over Tibetan Buddhist affairs" in stone.

North of the stele pavilion stands a bronze sculpture of Mount Sumeru. A relic from the Wanli period of the Ming dynasty, it was later moved here. In Buddhist cosmology, Mount Sumeru is the center of the entire universe. The bronze sculpture stands on a white marble base and is approximately 1.5 meters tall. Its unusual form is divided into three parts — the Wind Wheel, the Water Wheel, and the Golden Wheel — representing the "small-thousand world" as conceived in Buddhist thought. Because visitors once mistook it for an incense burner, it is now enclosed in a protective case — just view it through the case. After these two pieces, we'll enter the main hall of Yonghe Temple.

We have arrived at the Main Hall — the principal hall of Yonghe Temple, equivalent to the Great Buddha Hall in a Han Buddhist temple. Its origin is a fascinating one: this was originally the Silver Hall of the Prince Yong Mansion, where the prince received civil and military officials and conducted official business. It only became a hall of worship when the monastery was established. The hall has a single-eave hip-and-gable roof, seven bays wide, with yellow glazed tubular tiles, double-sloped five-step bracket sets under the eaves, coffered ceiling panels inside, and square brick flooring.

Inside the hall, look at the three large Buddha statues side by side at the center — these are the Buddhas of the Three Worlds. In the middle is Shakyamuni Buddha, the Buddha of the Present; to the left is Dipankara Buddha, the Buddha of the Past; to the right is Maitreya Buddha, the Buddha of the Future. Together, the three represent the past, the present, and the future, symbolizing the eternal transmission of the Dharma from age to age. Along the walls on either side of the Three World Buddhas stand eighteen luohan statues, reaching 15 meters in height, rendered in Tibetan style. There are also a few figures inside the hall you shouldn't miss: in the northeast corner stands a Medicine Buddha, in the northwest corner another Maitreya Buddha, and on the west wall hangs a painting of the Thousand-Armed, Thousand-Eyed Guanyin Bodhisattva. This hall is one of the most active worship spaces in Yonghe Temple — please stay safe and be considerate of others as you take it in. From here, we head to the Yongzheng Emperor's former sleeping chamber — the Hall of Eternal Blessing.

We have arrived at the Hall of Eternal Blessing, a place with deep ties to the Yongzheng Emperor. It was originally the main sleeping chamber of the Prince Yong Mansion — the study and bedroom of Yongzheng when he was still a prince. After the Yongzheng Emperor died in 1735, his coffin rested in this hall for two years. When the monastery was established, the hall was renamed "Hall of Eternal Blessing," meaning "to forever bless the spirit of the late emperor."

The hall holds a clever architectural secret. It has a single-eave hip-and-gable roof, five bays wide, but uses a structural arrangement known as "five bays visible, ten concealed" — from the outside it appears to be five bays, but inside it actually contains ten rooms. The hall enshrines a bronze statue of the Amitayus Buddha approximately 2.35 meters tall, symbolizing longevity and eternity, along with a bronze Medicine Buddha symbolizing health and the relief of illness. On the east and west walls hang two thangka paintings of Tara — and these are well worth a close look: the White Tara on the west wall is a painted image, while the Green Tara on the east wall is not painted at all — it is assembled piece by piece from more than 4,000 fabric swatches in different colors, a feat of extraordinary craftsmanship. From the Hall of Eternal Blessing, we'll look at the four dratsangs that surround it.

On either side of the Hall of Eternal Blessing are Yonghe Temple's four great dratsangs. "Dratsang" is the Tibetan word for a monastic college. Yonghe Temple was not only a place of worship but a full-fledged Buddhist university, and these four dratsangs were its four specialized colleges. Let's go through them one by one.

First, the Kalachakra College in the southwest wing — this was the college for the study of astronomy and calendrical calculation. At its center stands a gilded bronze three-dimensional mandala model of Kalachakra, symbolizing the structure and workings of the cosmos. It also displays models of an armillary sphere and a celestial globe made during the Qianlong era, along with a Tibetan manuscript of a treatise on astronomical calendrical calculation — evidence that the curriculum here covered both Buddhist teaching and astronomy.

In the southeast wing is the Bhaisajyaguru College — the college for the study of medicine. At its center stand three bronze statues of the Buddhas of the Three Worlds: Medicine Buddha as the principal figure, flanked by the Amitayus Buddha and a Patriarch Buddha, symbolizing health and longevity. The hall also displays classic Tibetan medical texts and specimens of medicinal materials — essentially a Tibetan medical school.

To the east of the Hall of Eternal Blessing is the Tantric College, for the study of esoteric teachings. It is a two-story structure. At its center stands a statue of Je Tsongkhapa; to the north stands a statue of Ghaladain Maitreya, and to the south a statue of Xizhabulzengg.

To the west of the Hall of Eternal Blessing is the Sutra-Teaching College, for expounding exoteric Mahayana teachings. Also a two-story building, it enshrines a statue of Je Tsongkhapa at its center, with a statue of Zhalasaji to the south and a statue of Mkhas-grub-rje to the north, as well as Qing-dynasty astronomical instruments and a terrestrial globe. Taken together, these four dratsangs show that Yonghe Temple in its day was a fully integrated institution of higher Buddhist learning, encompassing exoteric teachings, esoteric teachings, medicine, and astronomy. With the dratsangs seen, we head to one of Yonghe Temple's most important halls — the Hall of the Wheel of the Law.

We have arrived at the Hall of the Wheel of the Law — one of the core buildings of Yonghe Temple and the venue where monks gather for major Buddhist ceremonies.

First, notice its distinctive form. The hall has a cross-shaped floor plan, a yellow glazed tile hip-and-gable roof, and is seven bays wide. Most striking of all are the five gilded Tibetan-style stupas on the roofline — one large central stupa and four smaller ones at the corners — symbolizing Mount Sumeru and the four surrounding continents in the Buddhist cosmos. Even from a distance, the Tibetan character of this building is unmistakable.

Inside the hall, the massive gilded bronze statue at the center is Je Tsongkhapa — the founder of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. This statue stands approximately 6.1 meters tall, and its casting cost 200,000 silver yuan. What is even more remarkable is what stands behind it — the Arhat Mountain wood carving, approximately 5 meters tall and 3.5 meters wide, carved entirely from zitan rosewood, with five hundred luohan figures in endlessly varied poses. This piece is one of Yonghe Temple's three celebrated woodcarving masterpieces. On the east and west walls hang a large collection of the Tibetan Buddhist canon: 108 volumes of the Kangyur — the scripture section — and 207 volumes of the Tengyur — the commentary section. From here, we move to the most magnificent building in the entire complex — the Pavilion of Ten Thousand Happinesses, the grand finale of our visit.

We have arrived at the most magnificent building in Yonghe Temple — the Pavilion of Ten Thousand Happinesses — the grand finale of our journey through the complex. First built in the ninth year of Qianlong, 1744, it was originally a repository for tens of thousands of small Buddha figurines. Because the word for "Buddha" and the word for "happiness" share the same sound in Chinese, it was renamed the Pavilion of Ten Thousand Happinesses. The pavilion has double eaves and multiple stories, five bays wide and five bays deep, and stands 25 meters tall — an imposing presence. To the east is the Pavilion of Eternal Health and to the west the Pavilion of Lasting Peace; both are connected to the main pavilion by elevated flying corridors. These flying corridors preserve architectural features from the Liao and Jin dynasties — an exceptionally rare sight.

Inside the pavilion, look up — this is Yonghe Temple's most treasured icon, a towering Maitreya Buddha reaching from floor to ceiling. Known as Maidala Buddha, the portion visible above ground alone stands 18 meters tall; including the 8 meters buried underground, the total height of the statue reaches 26 meters. What makes it truly extraordinary is this: a figure of that size was carved from a single trunk of white sandalwood — making it the largest single-piece wood carving in China. That enormous sandalwood log was purchased in Nepal by the Seventh Dalai Lama and transported all the way to Beijing. This statue represents the "Buddha of the Coming Age" — Maitreya, who will descend to save humanity in the age to come. The pavilion also displays 41 thangka paintings of the Wish-Fulfilling Tree Jataka Tales, a gift from the Seventh Dalai Lama. With this great Buddha seen, we head to the final two halls.

Our final two halls today are just behind the Pavilion of Ten Thousand Happinesses. We start with the Guanyin Cave. Located behind the pavilion, it was originally the rear chamber of the Guanyin Hall in the Prince Yong Mansion, and is the place within Yonghe Temple dedicated to the Guanyin Bodhisattva. The principal figure enshrined here is the Guanyin Bodhisattva, symbolizing compassion and salvation. On either side stand statues of Green Tara, symbolizing wisdom and liberation. Multiple precious thangka paintings of Green Tara hang on the walls.

Continuing north brings us to the Hall of Achievement and Peace — the northernmost hall on the central axis and the final stop in Yonghe Temple. Built in the ninth year of Qianlong, 1744, the name "Suicheng" conveys the meaning of "achieving peace and prosperity." The hall has a yellow glazed tubular-tile flush gable roof, double eaves with corridors on both upper and lower levels, and is seven bays wide. At the center stands a statue of the White Umbrella Goddess, symbolizing protection and peace for all living beings. To the west stands a White Tara and to the east a Green Tara. This hall also holds a story connected to the Yongzheng Emperor: the second floor once housed five gilded wooden stupas and a clay figure of the Yongzheng Emperor — that clay figure has since been moved to the collection of the Palace Museum.

From the Prince Yong Mansion of the Kangxi era, to the Yongzheng Emperor's imperial palace, to the royal monastery that the Qianlong Emperor built from it — today we have walked the full length of the central axis. We have seen the archway plaques inscribed in four scripts, the "On Lamas" stele that put the governance of Tibetan Buddhism into stone, the four dratsangs with their halls of Buddhist learning, and a 26-meter Maitreya Buddha carved from a single sandalwood trunk. Yonghe Temple — a monastery born from an emperor's residence — is not only the largest Tibetan Buddhist temple in Beijing, but a living testament to the multi-ethnic cultural fusion of the Qing dynasty and the close ties between the imperial center and its frontier peoples. Thank you for spending this time here together. May this solemn imperial monastery leave you with a memory that stays with you long after you leave. Safe travels, and until we meet again.