Situated at the northeast part of Beijing, Yonghegong Lamasery is a renowned lama temple of the Yellow Hat Sect of Lamaism. Originally it was built in 1694 as the residence of Emperor Yongzheng of Qing (1644-1911 A.D.) before he ascended the throne and was renamed Yonghegong after his death. Emperor Qianlong, his successor, then upgraded Yonghegong to an imperial palace with its turquoise tiles replaced by yellow tiles (yellow was the imperial color in the Qing Dynasty). It was converted into a lamasery and became a residence for large numbers of monks from Mongolia and Tibet and national center of lama administration in 1744.

Served as an imperial palace, the layout of the temple is quite different from other temple. The main gate faces south, and on its 480-meter-long north-south axis are five main halls and annex connected by courtyards. They include a glaze-tiled arch, Gate of Peace (Zhaotaimen), Buddha's Warrior Hall (Tianwangdian), which was formerly the entrance to Yongzheng's imperial palace, Hall of Harmony and Peace (Yonghegong), Hall of Everlasting Protection (Yongyoudian), Hall of the Wheel of the Law (Falundian) and Pavilion of Eternal Happiness (Wanfuge).

   

Walking through the grand glaze-tile arch patterned with decorative dragons and flowers in the first court, you will reach a three-arch gate - the Gate of Peace. The central passageway was for emperors. The Bell Tower and the Drum Tower stand on each side of the second court next to the Gate of Peace. Two pavilions stand symmetrically on opposite to the north. Inscriptions of Chinese, Manchu, Mongolian and Tibetan engraved on steles record the temple's history.

The former entrance to Yongzheng's imperial palace, the Buddha's Warrior Hall, is also called the Hall of Heavenly Kings. In the hall Maitreya (Happy Buddha) always greets visitors with a smiling face with a sandalwood pagoda on each side. On the pagoda stand many small Buddhist images, which symbolize longevity. Hence, the pagoda is the Longevity Pagoda. On both sides of Maitreya's shrine are four fearsome-looking Heavenly Kings or Celestial Guardians.

A marble-based bronze incense-burner stands on the way to the Hall of Harmony and Peace. It stands 4.2 meters high with decorations of two dragons playing with a pearl on its six opens. Afterwards there is the Mount Sumeru, a bronze sculpture of Ming (1368-1644A.D.), standing for the center of the world. On the top of it there lies a legendary paradise where Sakyamuni and men of moral integrity live after death; the dwellings of humans in the middle and devils abide in hell below.

The Hall of Harmony and Peace - formerly a meeting place for Yongzheng, has another name called Mahavira Hall or Daxiongbaodian in Buddhism. In Chinese, Mahavira is an honorable title of Sakyamuni. On altar is Sakyamuni, Buddha of the Present in the middle with Buddha of the Past Yeja and the Buddha of the Future Maitreya on each side. Statues of 18 Arhats stand on each side of the hall. 18 Arhats were said to be the disciples of Samkyamuni to diffuse Buddhism. A painting on the western wall is a Bodhisattva.

Right behind the Hall of the Harmony and Peace is the Hall of Everlasting Protection (Yongyoudian) and the Hall of the Wheel of the Law (Falundian) in which enshrines a bronze image of Tsong Kapa -- founder of the Yellow Hat Sect. The golden-roofed Falundian with 5 gold-plating pagodas was the place where lamas assemble to have religious activities. In the center of the hall is a 6-meter-high gilded bronze statue of Tsong Kapa on a lotus seat.

Now there are nearly 70 lamas in this temple. The regular religious activities are still practiced and many lamas come here when there is a festival for lamas or Lamaism.