The Lama Temple is located in the north eastern part of Beijing's old town.  The Lama Temple originally built in 1694 by Qing Emperor Kangxi (1662-1722) for his fourth son, Prince Yongzheng who later succeeded him to the throne. After the death of his father, Emperor Yongzheng (1723-1735) moved to the Forbidden City.  The temple found subsequent use for visiting Tibetan and Mongolian Lamas, and thus became a Lamasery and administrative centre under the Geluk (or Yellow Hat) school of Tibetan Buddhism.

The Lama Temple also known as the "Yonghe Lamasery", is one of the largest and most important Tibetan Buddhist monasteries in the world, an is a protected monument under Chinese law.  The temple mixes features of Han Chinese and Tibetan architecture.

With the length near to 400 meters south-to-north, Lama Temple occupies an area of around 66,000 square meters. The magnificent temple consists of five main buildings lying on the north-south axis. Along the axis, there are five main halls which are separated by courtyards: the Hall of the Heavenly Kings, the Hall of Harmony and Peace, the Hall of Everlasting Protection, the Hall of the Wheel of the Law, and the Pavilion of Ten Thousand Happinesses.

A noteworthy feature of the temple is the Five Hundred Arhat Hill sculpture in the Hall of the Wheel of the Law. The five hundred Arhats (a type of Buddhist saint)  are made of five different metals (gold, silver, copper, iron, and tin) and are scatterred around the often bizarre looking hill carved from red sandalwood. Another attraction in the temple is a carving of a standing Maitreya Buddha, carved from a single piece of white sandalwood. The statue of Five Hundred Arhat Hill and the Maitreya Buddha are two of three artworks in the temple which were included in the Guinness Book of Records in 1993.

Tours Including The Lama Temple;
Beijing Bus Tour to Ancient Beijing & New Olympic Tour
Tour to Lama Temple Confucius Temple Zoo (Panda house) Summer Palace
Beijing One Day Tour to Hutong, Beijing Zoo and Lama Temple

For photos of the Lama Temple, click here!