Lama Temple in Beijing. Yonghegong - Lamaist Temple of Peace and Harmony in Beijing
The Hall of the Law Wheel (Falundian), decorated with five gilded pagodas, served as a place for reading sacred books and holding religious events. In the hall there is a large (6 meters high) gilded statue of Tsongkhapa (宗喀巴 - Tsong Khapa) on a lotus flower. Tsongkhapa is the founder of one of the schools of Buddhism - Gelug (Yellow Hat - Geluk). He was born in Qinghai Province in 1357 and became a Tibetan lama when he was only 14 years old.
Tsongkhapa statue
Lamaism is divided into five sects: Red, Flower, Black, White and Yellow. During Tsongkhapa's youth, the Red Sect was very popular and the lamas wore hats that were red on the outside and yellow on the inside. According to the laws of the Red Sect, the main lamas could marry and pass on their post to their children. This led to stagnation in the development of the sect. Tsongkhapa saw the defect in this practice and decided to reform it. At the same time, he turned his hat inside out - the yellow side out and the red side in. This became the symbol of the Yellow Sect. He issued 253 regulations, including a ban on marriage and an inheritance system. Thanks to these regulations and prohibitions, he not only gained popularity among the lamas, but also among the rulers of the Ming dynasty. He soon gained administrative and religious power in Tibet. Within a short time, the Yellow Sect became widely popular.
As mentioned above, in the Hall of the Wheel of the Law there is a statue of the great master Tsongkhapa. In the right hand of the statue is a sword, and in the left is a book, which symbolizes strength and wisdom. Casting the statue in 1924 cost 200,000 silver dollars. Over the years, the shine and shine have been replaced by patina. In 1982, the statue was gilded. But very few people know that the gold for this was found in the trash - in the trash that was left after the death of one old lama, who died in the spring of the same 1982.
This is the story. One day Nima, an observant 70-year-old lama, noticed a small pillow among the things of the deceased. Although it was dirty and seemed to have no value, he took it to his room. A few days later, his niece came to him and, seeing the dirty pillow on his bed, asked: “Why do you keep it? I can buy you a new one.” The Lama said that there was no need for this and that he had money, but he was just sorry to throw it away, since it might come in handy. The niece said that in this case she would take the pillow home and wash it for him. When she emptied the washing pillow, a gold necklace and gold bracelets fell out of it. Stunned, she returned to her uncle to tell him about the discovery. The old lama decided to give these treasures to the temple to restore the statue of Tsongkhapa. The temple's Religious Affairs Committee exchanged them for gold foil for gilding. In August of that year, lamas and monks from all over the country attended a ceremony to unveil the statue, which appeared in a new, shining golden appearance.
Gilded pagoda on the roof of the Law Wheel Hall
To the right and left of Tsongkhapa's figure are two thrones for the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama. When Tsongkhapa was alive, he had two famous disciples: the Dalai and the Panchen, who later came to be considered the reincarnation of Tsongkhapa. They inherited the title of Living Buddha after Tsongkhapa's death with the titles of First Dalai Lama and First Panchen Lama. Now in our time there is the Fourteenth Dalai Lama and the Eleventh Panchen Lama. In 1954, the Panchen Lama held Buddhist ceremonies here. In general, “dalai” means “boundless sea” in Mongolian, and lama means “teacher” in Tibetan.
Also in this room you can see frescoes on the side walls telling about the life of Sakyamuni, how he was born and how he preached Buddhism. The frescoes were restored in 1953.
Here you can see the so-called Wheels of Revolving Scriptures (经典转轮). Outwardly, they look like rotating reels with inscriptions on them. It is said that each wheel, large or small, carries a Buddhist message - a sutra. If you turn it one turn, it means that you have read this entire message. In the hall itself, along its walls there are bookshelves on which there are 108 volumes of Buddhist Sutras in Tibetan, translated from the ancient Indian language.
Wheels of Revolving Scriptures
Another attraction of the Law Wheel Hall is the Mountain of Five Hundred Arhats (五百罗汉山). The mountain is carved from red sandalwood, while the arhats are made from five different materials: gold, silver, copper, iron and tin. When Sakyamuni preached, his words were not written down on paper. Later, 500 of his followers wrote the Great Tibetan Buddhist Sutra according to what Sakyamuni had said. For this contribution, they were elevated to the rank of arhats.
Temple of Heaven
The poster at the entrance to the Temple of Heaven says: “The total area of the temple is 273 hectares.” But don’t be scared and imagine some gigantic structure. The Temple of Heaven is not one building, it is a huge park with three main religious buildings, built on a north-south axis: the Temple of Harvest Prayers, the Temple of the Firmament and the Altar of Heaven. These three temples are located on hills at some distance from each other. All of them have a cylindrical shape. The circle is a symbol of the sky, the square is a symbol of the earth. The Temple of Heaven represents the union of the earthly and the heavenly. The territory of the temple complex is rectangular from the south and semicircular from the north.
In the Temple of Heaven, the emperor made sacrifices and prayed for a good harvest. This happened on the day of the winter solstice, as well as at the beginning of spring and at the beginning of summer. A large procession set out from the Forbidden City and accompanied the emperor to the Temple of Heaven, where he prayed and fasted for three days, and then made sacrifices on the altar. Chinese rituals are sophisticated and intricate; during the Ming dynasty there was even a Ministry of Ceremonies, which organized holidays and ceremonies according to all the laws of cosmogony, numerology, in a word, Feng Shui.
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So, on a sunny morning, we walked through the gates of the Temple of Heaven and found ourselves on a long, wide park alley filled with numerous groups of Chinese pensioners. Some followed the instructor in repeating intricate gymnastic exercises, some played badminton, kicked a ball or puck with colorful feathers, some practiced ballroom dancing. Women, of course, prevailed, but not as dramatically as is always the case with us. I even looked at the elderly couples waltzing - a touching sight. But what interested me most was the puck with feathers, which the players, standing in a circle, deftly tossed with their feet. At the first opportunity, right there in the park, I bought it, and we also organized a circle, tried to throw this thing, but nothing came of it except laughter.
Gate of the Temple of Heaven
Chinese pensioners enjoy spending their leisure time in the Temple of Heaven Park
A wide alley led us to light marble arched gates, passing through which we found ourselves near the Altar of Heaven. This is a three-stage circular elevation, each step of which is surrounded by a marble fence along the contour.
In the center of the circle is a round stone on which the emperor used to pray and from which tourists now turn to heaven. Several people stood in line to see the sacred stone. One of the ladies occupied it for a long time, raised her hands to the sky and sent her requests upward. The others stood waiting. Finally the lady made room and, with loud exclamations, made several circles along the fence.
We also stood on the round stone.
The next temple - the Vault of Heaven - was located not far from the Altar. It is a cylindrical building with a curved roof covered with blue tiles. Inside there is a very beautiful carved dome. Around the temple is the Wall of Echoes.
After leaving the gate, we walked for some time through the park, where pensioners were warming up under the shade of cypress and juniper trees in the mild March sun. It was very pleasant to look at these cheerful people, not sitting alone in front of the TV, but gathered together and engaged in a common cause. You could join any group and do exercises or dance steps with the others. And some followed their own program, did their own gymnastics, stretching.
Walking a little further, we were attracted by the sounds of a multi-voice choir, and, coming closer, we saw a large crowd.
In the center of the crowd, a conductor stood on a dais and led the singing.
Everyone sang very harmoniously and enthusiastically. Male voices predominated. Here you could take notes and words and - if the song is unfamiliar to you - and sing along.
So we gradually reached the last temple - Prayers for the Harvest, apparently the main one, since it was located in the distance behind separate high gates and formally represented a union of the first two temples: a three-stage elevation and a cylindrical building on it, only it had more than one roof, and three. This is a tall ceremonial building with blue tiles.
Temple of Prayers for the Harvest - the most grandiose building of the Temple of Heaven
To the right of the temple there was a long, colorfully painted, covered gallery, similar to the one we saw in the Summer Palace. The gallery was also occupied by pensioners who were playing cards with excitement. One can only be happy for local pensioners. How easy it is for them to avoid loneliness - they left the house, came to the park, where they found many people like themselves. If you want, dance, if you want, sing, if you want, play cards. Or just sit nearby, watch the game, participate in the overall process.
One of the galleries of the Temple of Heaven was occupied by gamblers
The Chinese are generally very social creatures. In the evenings, the windows in the houses are dark, because everyone is on the streets, everyone is walking. Pensioners come to the parks in the morning, and in the evening they are joined by the rest of society.
In general, the Temple of Heaven is a very positive place.
Yonghegong Lamaist Temple
From the Temple of Heaven we went to the Palace of Harmony and Justice, or the Yonghegong Lamaist Temple. The palace was built for Prince Yongzhen, who, after ascending the throne, donated it to the Lamaist monastery.
Lamaism spread widely throughout China after the Mongol conquest of Tibet and China, and the Yonghegong Monastery actually became the center of Tibetan Buddhism in China. The center is not just Lamaism, but one of its strictest cults - the Gelug cult, the sect of the “yellow hats”. The “Yellow Caps” advocated the purification of Buddhism and the strictest monastic discipline and observance of all vows. There were no lay people among the clergy - only monks who studied in the monastery for 15-20 years, successively going through all stages of initiation. Thus, about 500 lamas lived in Yonghegong at the same time.
The pacifying name – Palace of Harmony and Justice – is deceptive. For a long time, good people shunned this place, since eerie rituals of the “dancing devil” were held in the temple right up to 1930. It was rumored that human sacrifices were performed here.
Now nothing reminds us of the terrible past. Crowds of tourists and believers fill the courtyards and pavilions of the monastery: tourists stare, believers burn candles and bow. Children rise from the altars, people flow from courtyard to courtyard, and only in the depths of the pavilions do the frozen figures of Buddhas rise in solitude and aloofness above the bustle of the world.
A long alley leads to the Yonghegong Lama Temple
The entrance to Yonghegong is guarded by a lion and a lioness. Under the lion's paw is a ball, and the lioness has a cub.
Yonghegong Pavilions and Courtyards
The inscription on the sign is in four languages: Tibetan, Manchurian, Mongolian and Chinese
And here’s another cat that turned up in one of the pavilions!
Confucius Monastery
After Yonghegong, we separated from the group and went for a walk on our own; we didn’t even go to the planned lunch, because we wanted to see the Confucian monastery, which was located just across the road, a little deep into the hutong.
Hutongs near the Confucius Monastery
I liked the Confucius Monastery for its relaxed atmosphere. Quiet, wilderness, solitude. The people - once or twice - and got lost. The sun is shining. Huge junipers and tree-like vines. At the entrance there are rows of stone tablets.
Then I read that they were stamped with the names of students who had successfully passed the exam at the Imperial Academy and were ready to enter the civil service. The Academy, by the way, is located across the wall from the monastery and can be visited with the same entrance ticket as the monastery itself.
The monastery has three courtyards, separated from one another by gates or elevated pavilions.
In front of the Gate of Great Success stands a monument to Confucius
To the left of the entrance is a bell, to the right is a drum.
A whole line of Confucius was discovered in the backyard
The Confucius Monastery made a very pleasant impression
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Yonghegong Lamai Temple(Also Tibetan Buddhist Yonghegong Temple, Lama temple, Palace of Peace and Harmony, Lama Temple) is an active Buddhist temple in Beijing. It is both a place of pilgrimage and a tourist attraction.
General information
Yonghegong Lamai Temple (Dga'-ldan Byin-chags-gling) can be visited when seen. The temple complex will be of interest primarily to believers or those who are interested in religion.
Impression
Under no circumstances take a Russian audio guide. Its cost is one of the highest among Beijing attractions - 50 yuan. And at the same time, this is the most terrible of all the audio guides that I have ever listened to (and I take them almost everywhere).
I already talked about the shortcomings of the audio guide in a note about. Things are much worse here. Listening to the audio guide, you remember school and your first reading lessons. In this case, a guy studying Russian is telling (trying to read) you about the temple complex. It is commendable that someone decided to play the role of a Russian-speaking guide, but it is not worth 400 rubles. I regretted wasting my money because I didn’t really understand anything.
I recorded a couple of parts of the audio guide as a memory. Try to understand what we're talking about.
Photos of Yonghegong Lamai Temple
The ill-fated audio guide
Entrance to Yonghegong Lamai Temple
Hall of Harmony and Peace
The text on the sign is duplicated in four different languages. It says on it - Palace of Harmony and Peace.
Here are the Buddhas of the three times. On the right is the Buddha of the past, in the center is the present, and on the left is the future.
The temple is active and here people light fragrant sticks and pray everywhere.
According to my observations, people go around all the Buddhas and pray in front of everyone
Hall of Eternal Protection
Meeting place of roofs
Hall of the Wheel of Law. Place of prayer for monks.
In the center is a statue of a Tibetan religious philosopher Je Tsongkhapa, founder of the religious practice of Buddhism named Gelugpa.
Pavilion of Ten Thousand Fortunes
It contains a 26 meter statue Maitreyi- a deity revered by all directions of Buddhism. The statue is carved from solid sandalwood. First they brought the statue here, and then they built a building around it.
A figurine in one of the buildings
What I liked most were the statues in hall of tantric Buddhism. They are very colorful, bright and rich. The building itself was built in 1744 - in the ninth year of the reign of the Qing Emperor Qianlong.
September 9th, 2014 , 03:55 pm
Today I will talk about slightly unusual sights of Beijing, which, perhaps, are not as famous as Gugun or Mao’s Mausoleum, but in my opinion, they are worth no less attention. I will talk about the “airy” Temple of Heaven and its role in the life of Chinese emperors and people, about the Yonghegong Lamaist Temple and Maitreya Buddha, and also show the famous Chinese pandas that we saw in the Beijing Zoo.
01. So, Temple of Heaven. Near the temple we saw street dancing. I really liked this idea; we later saw a similar, only more organized and numerous action in Beijing more than once. For some reason, Beijingers (or Chinese) have this tradition: gather in some place, turn on the tape recorder at full volume and move equally to the beat of the music. From the outside it looks very funny, a kind of mass flash mob! It seems to me that this is another argument in favor of the fact that the Chinese are a very organized and united nation. 
02. The covered gallery is no less an attraction than the Temple of Heaven itself. This is a popular meeting place among the local population, a kind of club of interests. Here they escape the sometimes unmerciful heat, play cards, snack on food brought from home, and simply socialize and relax. 
03. Rock garden nearby. 
04.
05. Galleries sometimes saved us more than once from the heat and fatigue accumulated from long walks. 
06. The covered gallery leads to the gates of the Hall of Harvest Prayers. 
07. Temple of Heaven (TianTan) is located in the southern part of Beijing. It was built around the same time as Gugun and served as a place of prayer and sacrifice for the Chinese emperors. Every year on the winter solstice, prayers were held here asking for a good harvest. It was believed that since the emperor had divine origin, then only he had the right to address Heaven. 
08. This is the only round-shaped temple in the capital, a pearl of Ming Dynasty architecture. The blue roofs of its palaces and pavilions seem to reflect the color and depth of the Beijing sky. And the main pavilion of the temple - Qingyandian - is one of the symbols of the Chinese capital. 
09. Hall of Harvest Prayers. It is a round building standing on a pedestal of white stone with a tiled three-tiered roof. The entrance inside is unfortunately closed. Marble stairs lead to the Hall building itself and in winter, when temperatures in Beijing drop below zero degrees, they become very slippery. The Chinese have figured out what to do with this: they cover the stairs with wide burlap. 
10. The Temple of Heaven is a complex that includes various ritual buildings that perform one or another role. 
11. You can only briefly look through the open doors at the interior of the Hall of Harvest Prayers. Since its main purpose is prayer, the decoration is strictly ritual in nature: incense burners, stands for incense sticks, etc. 
12.
13. The Temple of Heaven turns out to be a popular filming location for wedding couples. Here and there we saw different couples in all kinds of (European, as a rule) outfits. I don’t know what this tradition is connected with?.. 
14. And this couple is mixed: the husband (groom) is Slavic, and the bride is Chinese. 
15. Extensions around the Temple of Heaven. 
16. Another couple, this time in Chinese attire. 
17. And these guys seemed very nice to me:) 
18. The groom is so... Outstanding! ;) 
19. Hall of the Heavenly Vault, where tablets with the names of ancestors who were worshiped by many generations of emperors are kept. 
20. As I said above, in galleries you can, for example, play cards. 
21. “Wait a minute, I have all the moves written down!” 
By the way, shopping lovers may find it useful to know that not far from the Temple of Heaven there is the equally famous Hongqiao Market or Pearl Market. Not only jewelry, but also textiles, household appliances, souvenirs and much more are widely represented!
22. Meanwhile, we arrived at the Yonghegong Temple and are just trying to find the entrance. A bit of Beijing eclecticism. 
23. In the northeastern part of Beijing there is the famous active Yonghegong Lamaist Temple, built in 1694. Today it is one of Beijing's most colorful temples and the most famous Lamaism temple outside of Tibet.
The main entrance to the temple. Naturally paid. 
24. From the entrance to the north there is a rather long alley known as the “imperial road”, on both sides of which, fenced off by a red wall, are the dwellings of the “living Buddhas” who lived in the monastery in ancient times. 
25. Yonghegong dates back to 1694, when the Chinese Emperor Kangxi built a palace here for his son. In 1746, Yonghegong was rebuilt and became a lamaist monastery. It has always had the status of an imperial temple: all Chinese rulers held an ancestor worship ceremony here once a year. Yonghegong is currently a functioning monastery. 
26. Yonghegong consists of a number of pavilions, which seem to divide the territory of the monastery into separate sections. You can get from one section to another only by passing through the pavilion. This is the traditional system of all palace and temple architecture in China. 
27. Censer and temple building. 
28. Here you can light the sticks, which are given out free of charge in front of the entrance, and pray, as Buddhists do. 
29. Inside one of the pavilions. 
The first building in the monastery is dedicated to the Future Buddha Maitreya. He is sometimes called the "laughing Buddha" because of the good-natured smile on his face.
Further into the depths of the monastery there are pavilions one after another: Yonghedian (Harmony and Peace), Yongyudian (Eternal Happiness), Falundian (Wheels of Law). They contain perfectly preserved statues of Buddhas of the seasons, Buddhas of three times, and a huge statue of Dzonkaba, the monk who brought Lamaism from Nepal to China.
30.
31. Buddhas of three times (meaning, past, present and future). 
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33. Statue of monk Dzonkaba (if I’m not confusing anything now). This is a 6-meter bronze Buddha sitting on a Lotus flower. 
34. Below are places for clergy. 
35. In the far northern part of Yonghegong is the largest building of the monastery - the Wanfuge (Ten Thousand Joys) Tower, also known as Dafolou (Big Buddha Tower). Inside Wanfuge is the well-known wooden statue of Supreme Buddha Maitreya, made from a single piece of sandalwood. The height of the statue above the ground is 18 m. In addition, it is believed that it is dug into the ground 8 meters. It is curious that during the construction of the monastery, the trunk was first dug into the ground, then walls and a roof were erected around it, and only after that the statue itself was cut out. 
36. You can roughly estimate the scale of the statue. But, in its natural form, it, of course, makes a stronger impression. 
37. A few more temple buildings.
38.
39. Prayer drum. It is believed that you need to twist it and your prayers will be answered. 
40. Inspired and inspired, we leave the temple. 
41. The Beijing Zoo is located at the metro station of the same name - Beijing Zoo, so finding it won't be too difficult.
A little history: at the beginning of the twentieth century, Empress Cixi, for her own amusement, organized a menagerie with an area of 1.4 hectares, where more than 700 animals brought from Germany were collected, on the territory occupied by the modern Beijing Zoo. And today the Beijing Zoo is famous, first of all, for its pandas (by the way, one of my favorite animals).
42. Panda feasting on willow branches. The pandas at the zoo have a separate pavilion, quite large and spacious, and the living conditions are close to real ones. True, I was a little disappointed: I expected to see black and white cute bears, but they seemed somehow tired, with dirty, far from white fur. 
43. The panda lies down and eats its dinner. 
44. “I’ll leave you, I’m already tired!” 
45. We were not lucky enough to see tigers and lions that day (we came to the zoo a little late, and the animals hid in their cages), so I took a photo of this stone tiger. 
46. Photo with a koala. We're sitting well! 
47. From what impressed me: I liked the kangaroos, zebras and anteater (I don’t remember if it’s in the Moscow zoo?). In general, I can say that the visit to the zoo turned out to be more of a “tick-box” experience. The panda did not seem at all as cute as I had originally imagined, and many animals simply hid in their cages/burrows due to the heat. 
48. Kangaroos are still unusual animals. They maneuver their tail so deftly, using it as an additional support. 
49.
50. After Thailand, you won’t surprise us with elephants. 
51. There is an aquarium on the territory of the zoo. We didn’t get there either, although there were still 40 minutes left before closing. 
52. The baby poses for his parents. 
53. Beijing fashion. 
54. We sat down to rest on the shore of the pond. 
55. Zebras turned out to be so cute! 
56. Mom feeds her son a tomato. I love sneaky stories like this. 
57. After the Bird Park in the Kaluga region, these parrots will not take us! 
58. Chinese kindergarten. It would probably be good to meditate here. 
59. We also saw this miracle of nature in the Bird Park in the Kaluga region. One Chinese woman fed him some kind of crispy sticks, and the bird grabbed them from her and smacked her lips with relish. 
We wandered around the zoo for some time, trying to find the exit we needed, then we got caught in the pouring rain, got wet to the skin and took a long time to catch a taxi on the street. We asked the taxi driver to take us to Wanfujing Street and then looked for something to eat. We decided to go up to the food court again and this time chose a Japanese cafe. I ordered myself sushi, it turned out to be very good. And my husband asked for Chicken soup. To which they brought him this.
60. It turned out that chicken soup is a pot of boiling broth into which you need to put raw ingredients and cook them yourself. This is another traditional Chinese dish, also called samovar. On the plate there is thinly sliced meat, shrimp, vegetables, various mushrooms and some things in a bag: either an egg or some kind of “beast”. It is believed that food prepared in this way does not lose its valuable and beneficial properties. But we are losing them! 
61. At this point the husband became completely depressed: he wants to eat, but I don’t understand why, and he also needs to cook it! 
62. Then he turned to the funny waitress for help with a request to help him prepare this unusual “dish”. She turned out to be very friendly and helped the big white man not to die of hunger in Beijing. 
63. Master class in Beijing. But it was all an adventure! ;) At this point, our experiments with the “samovar” were completed, and we no longer ordered soups. Well, just in case.
Name of Yonghegong Temple in Chinese- 雍和宮, Yōnghégōng.
This iconic temple is one of the largest and most iconic lamaist monasteries in Beijing. The temple-monastery is located in the northern part of the former “imperial city” and is a monastery of Tibetan Buddhism (Lamaism).
The history of the temple began in 1694, when Emperor Kangxi ordered the construction of a palace for his son, the heir to the empire, Yong-qingwan. When Yong-qingwan began to rule the country, his motto became Yongzheng, which means “harmony and justice,” and therefore the palace was called Yonghegong, which can be interpreted as “Palace of Harmony” or as “Palace of Yong, who became the emperor.”
Yonghegong has always been special among other temples in China: after all, it was the court temple of the emperor himself, which gave it a special status. Every year, it hosted ceremonies to commemorate ancestors, which were conducted by the emperors themselves.
The area of Yonghegong is not so large - about 57 thousand square meters. m and today about a hundred monks live and perform rituals in it (previously their number was equal to or exceeded 500). It stretches 480 m from south to north and 120 m from west to east.
You can enter the monastery through traditional gates, guarded on the sides by figures of majestic lions.
From the entrance of the temple to the north, a fairly long alley stretches, which is usually called the “imperial road”; at the end of it, the Zhaotaimen Gate (Zhaotaimen), that is, the Gate of Declaration of Peace, awaits tourists. Behind them there is another gate - Yonghemen, which previously served as the entrance to the palace of Yong-qingwan. It is behind these gates that the famous Yonghegong Monastery begins, which is divided into a number of pavilions, dividing the entire territory into isolated sections.
The pavilions are arranged according to a rather cunning scheme, typical of similar buildings in China: you can only get from one pavilion to another in one way.
There are three pavilions in the monastery: Harmony and Peace - Yonghedian, Eternal Happiness - Yongyoudian, Wheels of Law - Falundian, and at the very end there is a large monastery building - Wanfuge (Palace of Ten Thousand Joys) or Big Buddha Tower (Dafolou), as it is popularly called.
Vanfuge is the most important of all the attractions of the monastery. Inside there is a very famous wooden statue of the Buddha of the future - Maitreya, which rises above the ground by as much as 18 m and is carved from solid sandalwood brought from India. For reference, the sandalwood tree is dug into the ground another 8 meters, so you can imagine the colossal size of this giant when it grew in the forests of India.
In addition, it should be noted that during the construction of the temple, workers first dug the trunk into the ground, then walls and a roof were erected around it, and only then a statue was cut out of the tree. The temple was built in the middle of the 18th century.
Video: Yunhegun - Palace of Peace and Harmony
How to get to Yonghegong Temple
By subway: Line 2, exit Yonghegong Station, take Exit C (Southwest Exit) and walk south 400 meters, the temple will be on the east side of the road.
Line 5, exit at Yonghegong Station, Exit C (Southeast Exit).
By Bus: Bus 13, 116, 117 or 684 to Yonghegong Station.
Buses 2, Te 12, 909, 116, 684, 62, 13, 44, 18, 75. Exit at Yonghegong Qiao Dong Station.
Buses 117, 125. Exit at Yonghegong Qiao Bei.
