Lama Temple (Yonghegong) 雍和宫

In the north-east corner of Beijing, inside the second ring road, stands the Lama Temple, or Yonghegong, the city's largest temple of Tibetan Buddhist teaching. Its halls began under the Kangxi emperor as the residence of Prince Yinzheng before he took the throne, and the Qianlong emperor was born and grew up here. In 1725 the family compound was raised to an imperial palace, and in 1744 it was turned into a Gelug school monastery. Later emperors gave it a religious mission and a political one, as a channel between the court and the Mongol and Tibetan regions.

The buildings run south to north in five courtyards, some twenty timber halls with upswept eaves. The first seven follow the classic Chinese seven-hall monastery plan; the halls behind climb step by step, and the Falun Hall carries five Tibetan-style skylights, one large and four small. Four colleges made the temple a complete Tibetan Buddhist seat of learning. The tallest building, the Wanfu Pavilion, shelters a Maitreya Buddha carved from a single white sandalwood trunk, standing eighteen metres above ground.

Reopened as a place of worship in 1981 and named a museum of Tibetan Buddhist art in 1995, Yonghegong is at once a working monastery, a collection and a monument, and it draws pilgrims and visitors from around the world.

Don't miss

• Maitreya Buddha carved from a single white sandalwood trunk
• The Five Hundred Arhats mountain, carved in red sandalwood
• Wanfu Pavilion, the tallest hall, built entirely of wood
• Falun Hall's five Tibetan skylights, one large and four small
• Four colleges that made the temple a complete Buddhist school

Visiting tips

Tickets must be booked online in advance with real-name registration through the temple's official WeChat service account, the only sales channel; bring the same valid ID you booked with. Up to 40,000 visitors are admitted each day.