The Yonghe Temple or the Lama Temple as it’s better known is one of the most famous monasteries In the whole of Beijing it is located in the north-easten
part of Beijing and is one of the largest and most important Tibetan monasteries that is deep in history and shrouded in mystery. The Temple is very easy to find only about a ten minuet walk from Yonghe Gong metro stop. But if you don’t fancy roughing it on the metro there are many coach tours that cover this place I.e Beijing Tours. The walk up from the metro station is very pretty and there are many little tea shops and restaurants I can personally recommend the Lama Temple Restaurant which serves traditional Chinese cuisine at a very cheap price .
The entry fee inside the temple is very reasonable costing 20 Rmb this also includes a special DVD which takes you on a virtual tour of the Lama temple however this fee will be included if you take an organised tour with china travel .
Once inside the lama temple I suddenly got the feeling of how sacred this place really is, everyone was lighting Incense sticks and undertaking the ritual of bowing to the north and the east. Unlike many of the other tourist places I have been to this one was very tranquil and calming. The lama Temple is a maze of five progressively larger hall with five beautiful courtyards in between there is also a small museum and many other
halls either side of the main halls.
The buildings are all very opulent with intricate artwork and lavish decor, everywhere I looked there were complex carvings or Budders and treasure it wasquite breath taking. The roof of all the hall were covered with ornate yellow-tiles that reflected the the sunlight creating a wonderful effect.
I ventured into the first of the halls, named the hall of the Heavenly Kings inside stood 3 Budders carved out of wood they were and delicatle painted with great detail. the budders were overloaded with silk sashes and quite bizarre food and beer! Around the Base of the Budders many chinese visitors were stood praying and worshiping the status. I walked through another courtyard leading to the second of the Halls through another courtyard which was very smiler to the previous, inside the Hall of Harmony and Peace stood three more budders almost identical to the previous apart from instead of beer the offering was fresh fruit. I quickly past through the next courtyard into the third hall The Hall of Everlasting Protection where three more slightly bigger budders stood around the side of the hall were 6 other smaller status which were holding gifts. I wondered into the next hall by passing many people lighting incense and saying prayers as I enterd theHall of the Wheel of the Law which was very big I thought this was the main Buddha due to its size and the amount of excitement that was going on at the base of the statue.
I finally reached the final hall the biggest of the five where I knew the Maitrya buddha resides, before I even steped inside I could see the Buddha’s tree trunk size legs as I got inside I looked up in awe I have never seen
anything quite like it. The Buddha was colossal, breath taking I couldnt comprehend that this statue was built from a single piece of Tibetan white sandalwood. The colours were so vivid and grand the whole statue was gleaming with rich jewels ,it was draped in lush silk scarves. I had to really crane my neck to see the top of the Buddha it is much bigger and wider than I ever expected!
The lama temple has been one of my favourite places so far it’s undoubtedly the most interesting religious site in Beijing, a definite must for anyone who visits china. The temple is not that big It can be done in about 1hr however I would recommend meandering slowly and really taking the whole atmosphere in. Another way to see this if you only have limited time and want to know the history of the place is to take a tour look up China Tours for some great Ideas for excursions.
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