Lama Temple(Yong He Gong) is the biggest Tibetan lamasery in Beijing. Built in 1694, it was the residence of Prince Yong Zheng, who became the Emperor and moved to Forbidden City in 1722. Then the complex was converted to a temple by Qian Long Emperor in 1744.
It features five large halls and five courtyards, housing lots of beautifully statues, murals, and other cultural relics. The Falun Dian (Hall of the Wheel of Law), second to last of the major buildings, contains a 6m (20 feet) bronze statue of Tsongkapa (1357-1419), the founder of the Yellow Hat (Geluk) sect of Tibetan Buddhism, which is now the dominant school of Tibetan Buddhism. He's easily recognized by his pointed cap with long earflaps. The last of the five central halls, the Wanfu Ge (Tower of Ten-Thousand-Happiness), houses the temple's prize possession - a Tibetan-style statue of Maitreya (Buddha of Future), 18m tall above ground and 8m deep underground, carved from a single piece of white sandalwood. This is the largest statue made of 1 piece of wood in the world, according to the Guinness World Records.
Since it has imperial background, Lama Temple has all its roofs covered by yellow titles, which was the standard for imperial buildings. Despite the long history, it is still prosperous today, with 130 lama monks practicing and living here, and lots of followers and visitors everyday.
White Cloud Temple (Bai Yun Guan). This sprawling complex is the most active of Beijing's Taoist temples. It was built in 739 and name Temple of the Great Ultimate in Tang dynasty. Later in Yuan dynasty, Kublai Khan appointed a Taoist priest from Shandong province to the position of "National Teacher," and put him in charge of all Chinese Taoist affairs. This priest's name was Qiu Chuji, but he was commonly known as the Sage of Eternal Spring (Changchun Zhenren). While Qiu Chuji was in Beijing, he resided in the Temple of the Great Ultimate, which he expanded and renamed the Temple of Eternal Spring (Changchungong). From then on, it became the center of Daoism in northern China. It was not until Ming Dynasty that its current name was adopted. Even in today, the temple acts as headquarters for the Chinese Taoist Association.
Beside intent visitors, we can also see blue-frocked monks wear their hair in the rarely seen traditional manner -- long and tied in a bun at the top of the head. Although the texts of Taoism (China's only native religion) decry the pursuit of wealth and honors as empty, the gods of wealth attract the most devotees.
East Mountain Temple (Dong Yue Miao). Reopened to the public in 1999, one of Beijing's most captivating Taoist temples stands largely disregarded. Founded in 1322 by the devotees of the Zhengyi sect, the temple is dedicated to the god of Dong Yue (East Mountain, i.e. Taishan Mountain), who resides in the sacred mountain of Taishan. God of Dongyue is in charge of supervising the 18 layers of Hell and the 76 departments.
The garishly represented emissaries of these departments may be found in the 72 halls that ring the main courtyard of the temple. Worshipers present themselves at the relevant hall, with offerings of money, incense, and red tokens inscribed with their name. With 76 departments (some are forced to share a cubicle), there are emissaries for every conceivable wish. The Department for Accumulating Wealth is busy, while the Department of Pity and Sympathy, depicting beggars, awaits its first petition, and there are an alarming number of donations for the Department for Implementing 15 Kinds of Violent Death.
A glassed-in stone stele at the northeast corner of the courtyard is written in the fine hand of Zhao Mengfu, recording the building of the temple and the life of its founder, Zhang Liusun. At the north of the complex stands the two-story Folk Museum. This hosts interesting and comprehensive exhibitions of local traditions.
Confucius Temple was initially built in 1302 and additions were made during the Ming and Qing dynasties. It has a total area of 22,000 square meters (5.4 acres). It is the second largest temple constructed for Confucius, the greatest thinker and educationalist in ancient China, ranking only behind the Temple of Confucius in Qufu, Shandong Province, where Confucius was born.
This temple consists of four courtyards. The main structures include Xianshi Gate (Gate of the First Teacher), Dacheng Gate (Gate of Great Accomplishment), Dacheng Hall (Hall of Great Accomplishment) and Chongshengci (Worship Hall). Dacheng Hall is the main building in the temple, where the memorial ceremony for Confucius was often held. Inside the temple one can see that 198 stone tablets are positioned on either side of the front courtyard, containing 51,624 names of Jinshi (the advanced scholars) of the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, many of whom are historical famous characters. Also 14 stone stele pavilions of the Ming and Qing dynasties hold the precious historical information of ancient China.
