Yonghe Lamasery, popularly known as the Lama Temple or the Yonghe Temple is located towards the Northeast Corner of Beijing city. This holy place is the largest and the highly preserved temple in the whole of the country. It was initially built during the Qing dynasty and had been the residence of emperor Yongzheng during his childhood. After the collapse of the Qing dynasty Lama temple became the National Center for Lama Administration. After Yongzheng’s decease in 1735, the coffin of this emperor was placed within the sanctuary. Eventually, it became the residence to a large number of Tibetan Buddhist monks from Tibet and Mongolia.
The temple is placed along a north- south central axis with a span of 480m. You would find the main gate at the southern end of this axis. By the side of the north-south axis one would notice five main halls which are separated by courtyards. The five halls are namely, Hall of the Heavenly Kings, the Hall of Harmony and Peace, the Hall of Everlasting protection and the Pavilion of Ten Thousand Happiness’s. The first hall of heavenly kings is located at the southern most corner. This hall carries a statue of the Maitreya Buddha in the center of it and statues of the four heavenly kings. The hall of harmony and peace, which is the main building of the Lamasery houses has three bronze statues of the Buddha’s of the 3 eras. Statue of Gautama Buddha is at the center representing the Buddha of the present, Kasyapa Matanga in the right representing Buddha of the past and Maitreya Buddha on the left as the Buddha of the future.
The hall of everlasting protection is the place where the coffin of the emperor Yongzheng was placed. Today you would see the statue of the healing Buddha standing in this hall. The hall of the wheel of the law is considered as a place for religious ceremonies. It has a statue of Je Tsongkhapa, five hundred Arhats in red sandalwood and different metals. The pavilion of ten thousand happiness’s holds a statue of Maitreya Buddha, which is 26m tall. There are a vast number of Forbidden City Hotels, however The Peninsula Beijing stands out as one of the finest Beijing Hotel.
