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| Wanshou Si (Longevity Temple) |
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The Longevity Temple, now home to the Beijing Art Museum (Beijing
Yishu Bowuguan), was funded by a eunuch and was originally constructed
in 1557. It later became a stopping point for the Qianlong emperor
and his successors (particularly the Empress Dowager Cixi) on their
way to the Summer Palace by boat, a route now followed by tour boats
departing from just north of the zoo. The long sequence of heavily
restored but low-key halls now houses an odd set of exhibitions, featuring
everything from early ceramics, iron, and copperware, to late and
very intricate lacquerware and carved ivory. Perhaps best of all is
an exhibition of highly decorated and ancient seals, wrought from
a variety of precious and semiprecious materials. At the rear of the
complex is a rock garden from whose top Cixi is supposed to have admired
the surrounding countryside, now long built over. |
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