YongHeGong Lama Temple
The YongHeGong Lama Temple (YongHe Temple), also known as the 'Palace of Peace and Harmony Lama Temple', is a temple and monastery of the Geluk (Yellow Hat) School of Tibetan Buddhism located in the northeastern central part of Beijing, next to the subway station of the same name.
YongHeGong is one of the largest and most important Tibetan Buddhist monasteries in the world. The building and the artworks of YongHeGong combine Han Chinese and Tibetan styles (and some Mongolian motifs).
History of YongHeGong
Building work on the YongHeGong Temple started in 1694 during the Qing Dynasty. It originally served as an official residence for court eunuchs. It was then converted into the court of Prince YongZheng (Yin Zhen), a son of emperor KangXi. After YongZheng's ascension to the throne in 1722, half of the building was converted into a lamasery, a monastery for monks of Tibetan Buddhism, while the other half remained an imperial palace.
After YongZheng's death in 1735, his coffin was placed in the temple. YongZheng's successor, emperor QianLong, gave the temple imperial status. This was signified by having its turquoise tiles replaced with the yellow tiles that were reserved for the emperor. Subsequently (1744), the monastery became a lamasery and a residence for large numbers of Tibetan Buddhist monks from Mongolia and Tibet. The YongHeGong Lamasery became the national centre of Lama administration.
YongHeGong is said to have survived the Cultural Revolution due to the intervention of prime minister Zhou Enlai. YongHeGong was opened to the public in 1981.
Location of YongHeGong
YongHeGong Lama Temple is located just inside the north eastern corner of the second ring road. There is a subway train station here with the same name. On exiting the subway, walk south alongside the temple for about 500m until you reach the entrance of YongHeGong on the lefthand side.
The Confucious Temple is close by, so you can consider visiting there afterwards. It has a different style and feel to YongHeGong. The White Clouds Taoist Temple, just outside southwestern central Beijing, offers yet another different style.
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