Lama Temple

Hours & Admission Price Peak Season
Jan.-Dec.
9:00-17:00
35 Low Season
Jan.-Dec.
9:00-17:00
35 Address & Phone No 12 Yonghegong Dajie, Beixinqiao, Dongcheng District, Beijing. Transportation Take Bus No. 13, 116, 117 and get off at Yonghegong Station or Bus No. 8, 62, 75, 116, 606, 909, T2 and get off at Yonghegong Qiao Dong Station.
Take the& Notes Most halls are not allowed to take photography. Ask for the permission first.
Souvenirs may be purchased by negotiation in the Lamasery.

Lama Temple, also Yonghe Lamasery, is one of the largest and most important Tibetan Buddhist monasteries in the world, well known for the imperial religious activities and contact with the Mongolia and Tibet upper classes in history.

Located in northeast of Beijing, China, Lama Temple is the largest and best preserved lamasery in China. The temple, initially built in 1694 during the Qing Dynasty, is of the Geluk School of Tibetan Buddhism. Covering an area of 66,400 square meters, the temple has a length of 480 meters and the buildings are combination of Han Chinese and Tibetan styles. In history, two emperors in Qing Dynasty came from here and it is well known for the imperial religious activities and contact with the Mongolia and Tibet upper classes.

History

In 1694, Emperor Kangxi ordered to build an official residence at here for his fourth son Prince Yong (Yin Zhen), the future Yongzheng Emperor. After Prince Yong ascended the throne in 1722, he converted half the court into an imperial palace named Yonghe Palace and another half into a monastery for monks of Tibetan Buddhism. Yongzheng coffin was placed in the temple after his death in 1735. His son, the successor Emperor Qianlong converted the whole palace into a lamasery and replaced the former turquoise tiles with yellow ones to indicate its imperial status.

The temple was called “Land of Fengshui Hidden Dragons” since both the emperors came from here. After it became a lamasery, large numbers of Tibetan Buddhist monks from Mongolia and Tibet came here and it became the national centre of lama administration. Today, Lama Temple is one of the largest and most important Tibetan Buddhist monasteries in the world, attracting more and more tourists.

Cultural Relics

There are numerous Buddhist statues, Thangkas (a Tibetan silk painting with embroidery) as well as lots of cultural relics in the halls of Lama Temple. Many of the relics are valuable gifts for the emperors or the temple presented by the upper-class and eminent lamas from Tibet since 16th century.

Among the relics, the 500 Arhats hill, the three bronze statues of the Buddhas of the Three Ages, and the18-meter-tall Sandalwood Buddha Statue are most treasured woodcarvings in Lama Temple known for their hugeness, exquisiteness and queerness.

Visiting Guide

The main buildings in the temple are located along the 480-meter long north-south central axis. Each of them is assisted with wing halls on both sides. From south to north, the five main halls separated by courtyards are respectively Hall of the Heavenly Kings, the Hall of Harmony and Peace, the Hall of Everlasting Blessings, the Hall of Dharma Wheel and the Pavilion of Ten Thousand Happiness.

After passing a yard which contains a screen wall, visitors will find the main entrance made by three archways at the southern end of the temple’s axis. In ancient times, only emperors could enter the central one. Heading north from the gateways, visitors will find an imperial way leading to the Zhaotai Gate, the front gate with a bell tower in the east and drum tower in the west. Near the drum tower, there is an eye-catching 8-ton bronze pan which was used to boil porridge on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month. The octagonal pavilion in the north houses a stele with the inscription of Emperor Qianlong, indicating the history of the temple in four languages of Chinese, Tibetan, Manchu and Mongolian.

Hall of the Heavenly Kings (Tian Wang Dian)

Hall of the Heavenly Kings, the southernmost of the main halls, is the former Yonghe Gate serving as the main entrance to the temple. In front of the hall stand two vivid bronze lions on both sides. In the center of the hall, there is a statue of Maitreya Buddha while along the walls statues of four powerful Heavenly Kings are arranged.

Hall of Harmony and Peace (Yong He Gong Dian)

Passing through the courtyard behind the Hall of the Heavenly King, visitors will find the Hall of Harmony and Peace, the principle one in the whole temple proper. The hall houses three bronze statues of the Buddha: the statue of the Gautama Buddha (Buddha of the Present) in the center, the statue of Kasyapa Matanga (Buddha of the Past) on the right and the Maitreya Buddha (Buddha of the Future on the left. Along the walls of the hall, there are statues of the 18 Arhats.

The stramonium hill in the north courtyard of the hall is a precious art treasure as well as a holy thing of Buddhism. The four wing halls are the place where lamas study the Esoteric Buddhism, Exoteric Buddhism, Tibetan medicine, astronomy and geography.

Hall of Everlasting Blessings (Yong You Dian)

North of the Hall of Harmony and Peace is the Hall of Everlasting Blessings, the Emperor Yongzheng's living quarters as a prince and the place where his coffin was placed after his death. In the center are three woodcarving Buddhist statues standing on the lotus throne. The central one is the Amitabha (Buddha of Infinite Life) while the two on side are the Medicine Buddha and the Lion Buddha.

Hall of Dharma Wheel (Fa Lun Dian)

As the representative of mixture of Tibetan and Han Chinese cultures, this hall is the place for reading scriptures and conducting religious ceremonies. The large statue standing in the center is Je Tsongkhapa, founder of the Geluk School. Behind the statue is the Five Hundred Arhat Hill, a carving made of red sandalwood with statues of the 500 arhats. These arhats are in different poses, made from five different metals of gold, silver, copper, iron and tin.

Pavilion of Ten Thousand Happiness (Wan Fu Ge)

The last main hall is a three-storey pavilion housing a statue of Maitreya positioned on a white marble base. The 18-meter-high enormous statue is carved with white sandalwood, considered as one of the three artworks in the Temple which were included in the Guinness Book of Records in 1993.

How to get to Lama Temple

Take Bus No. 13, 116, 117 and get off at Yonghegong Station or Bus No. 8, 62, 75, 116, 606, 909, T2 and get off at Yonghegong Qiao Dong Station.
Take the subway Line 2 or Line 5 and get off at Yonghegong station and get out from Exit C.

Beijing Culture