Yong He Gong, or the Palace of Harmony and Peace, and widely known as the Lama Temple, is a best preserved Tibetan Buddhist temple in China. Located in An Ding Men, Dongcheng District, the Lama temple covers 66,400 square meters and is 480 meters long from north to south and 120 meters wide from east to west. The architecture, ornaments and size of the temple is comparable to the Forbidden City therefore it is recognized that it is a miniature royal palace and a Buddhist temple of the highest ranking in China. In fact the Lama Temple was originally associated with the royal family. It was first built as a residence for Prince Yinzhen, the fourth son of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty. Prince Yinzhen was known as the Yong Prince, so the palace was called Yong He Palace. After Prince Yong took the supreme power in 1725 (Emperor Yongzhen), he moved his residence to the Forbidden City and turned half of this old home into a temple for the Yellow Sect of Tibetan Buddhism.
Yong He Gong is the biggest Buddhist temple in Beijing and is supposed to be the temple which makes every wish come true. On a map written both in Chinese and English the visitors can admire the vastness of the temple and decide what they want to explore first. The main buildings of Yong He Gong are built around a central axis. There are eleven halls and in each of them are many culture relics, pictures of Tangka and Buddhist statues which momentarily are not allowed to be taken pictures of.
Admission fee:
25 rmb for a person. 50% off for the students (need a student ID). The ticket is a CD.
Traffic:
To get here, you can take the subway line 2 or line 5 to the station named Yong He Gong. The city bus is also a good option. You can take the city bus line 800, 44, 13, 62, 116, 807.
Opening hours:
09:00 – 17:00.
Address:
12 Yong He Gong Dajie Street, Beijing, China.
Postal code:
100007.
Tel:
010-64044499, 010-84028329, 010-64074951.
Tips:
(1). Don’t take pictures in Yong He Gong.
(2). Buddhist events are on the 1st, 8th, 15th and the last day of every month (traditional Chinese calender).
(3). You can bargain here and a lot of people recommend the unique perfume sold in Yong He Gong.
(4). Don’t drive your own car to Yong He Gong because it is not easy to find a parking lot here. You will waste a lot of time if you do so. The taxi is a better choice for your Yong He Gong travel.
(5). Don’t wear a new jacket here because there are so much ash in the air around Yong He Gong. This place will turn your white jacket to grey in just ten minutes.