Kathy & Paul's Adventures Abroad

Entrance to the Temple

Yonghegong subway station is not only a transfer station between line 2 and 5,it was built beneath the three hundred year old foundations of the Lama Temple. As you emerge from the subway the temple buildings are there above you. A short walk of fifteen or twenty minutes takes you past many small shops selling a variety of types of incense, which are burnt at the temple. Arriving at the main entrance a fee of 25 RMB (less than $5.00) gets you a ticket to go inside.

The temple was built in 1694 as the residence of Emperor Yongzheng when he was just a prince. In 1744 the Qing dynasty changed it status to Yonghe lamasery (monastery) and it became the centre of Lama administration. The Yonghegong Lama Temple, also known as the “Palace of Peace and Harmony Lama Temple”, was one of the largest Tibetan monasteries in the world. The buildings and art work are Han Chinese and Tibetan style with some Mongolian motifs.

Some of the monks who live at the temple

When we visited on Saturday there were very few foreign tourists perhaps because it was late in the year and the tourist season is just about over. Even though China has no official religion it soon became apparent that many of the visitors were practising Buddhists. in many locations throughout the complex a steady stream of people burned their offerings, holding them above their heads as they prayed. We realized that this was much more than a tourist destination.

This temple is home to about seventy monks and visitors often ask the monks to bless articles like pendants most often made of jade, and leave donations of money. This is why I think to many visitors going there is a type of pilgrimage. I began to feel like an interloper, an intruder. You could feel the deeply personal connection between this temple and many of the Chinese visitors. At one point I entered one of the smaller shrine rooms and several people were praying. I felt observing such a personal time was inappropriate so I quickly exited the room. Not being a religious person myself I don’t fully understand the connection but you could feel it there. After being there for a short while we decided to leave and let the people worship in their holy place without further intrusion.