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| Yonghegong Lamasery |
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The Yonghegong Lamasery is located in the northeast of Beijing
and covers a space of 660,000 square metres. It looks like an imperial
palace with its red walls and yellow roofing tiles. It is the largest
Buddhist temple of the Yellow-sect in Beijing and has been completely
preserved. Built in 1694 as the residence of Count Yin Zhen, the
fourth son of the Emperor Kangxi, it was called "the Palace
of Count Yong." After Yin Zhen became the Emperor, he continued
to use it as an imperial palace for short stays away from the capital.
In 1744, it was converted into a lamasery. Yonghegong is the most
renowned Tibetan Buddhist temple in China outside Tibet and holds
treasures of both the Han and Tibetan cultures.
Yonghegong stands facing south. The building is very grand and
has a unique character and its Buddhist statues are very precious.
It consists of an archway and five grand halls in addition to another
four academic halls on either side - the Hall of Teaching Buddhist
Scripture, the Hall of the Esoteric Sect, the Hall of Mathematics,
and the Hall of Medicine. The layout of the complex is influenced
by a combination of traditional Han, Tibetan, Manchu, and Mongolian
architecture. The Hall of Falun houses the huge white statue of
Buddha made of one massive piece of sandalwood. This and the Buddhist
Shrine in the Zhaofo Tower carved from nanmu are the two most precious
wood carvings of the Yonghegong Lamasery. |
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