Wanshou Temple

Wanshou Temple

Wanshou temple is located on the west side of Guangyuan gate of Gaoliang River (Changhe River) in Haidian District of Beijing. It was originally called juse temple and was built in the Tang Dynasty. It was rebuilt twice in the 16th year of Qianlong and the 26th year of Guangxu. In the early years of Guangxu, it was destroyed by fire and later became a vegetable garden. In 1894, Wanshou temple was rebuilt as a palace and the vegetable garden was enclosed.

Wanshou temple is the Beijing Art Museum. It has a collection of more than 50000 ancient works of art, including calligraphy, paintings, steles, celebrity letters, palace embroidery, official kiln porcelain, ancient furniture, coins and seals.

Historical evolution

Wanshou temple is located on the west side of Guangyuan gate of Gaoliang River (Changhe River), Haidian District, Beijing. It was originally called juse temple and was built in the Tang Dynasty.

In the fifth year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty (1577), it was changed into Wanshou temple, mainly collecting scriptures.

In the second year of emperor Shunzhi, the 25th year of Emperor Kangxi, the 16th year of Emperor Qianlong, the 26th year of Emperor Qianlong and the 20th year of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty, they were all repaired again.

In the early years of Guangxu, it was destroyed by fire and later became a vegetable garden. In 1894, Wanshou temple was rebuilt as a palace and the vegetable garden was enclosed.

Qianlong celebrated his mother's birthday three times in the temple. When Cixi came and went to the summer palace, she would offer incense to Buddha in Wanshou temple and have tea in xikuayuan palace, so it was called xiaoningshou palace. Yongle bell, the king of bell in the temple, was originally in Wanshou temple.

Around 1934, the front of Wanshou temple was used as a school for children of refugees in Northeast China.

In 1985, Wanshou temple was established as the Beijing Art Museum, featuring works of art from the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

On May 25, 2006, Wanshou temple, as an ancient building of the Qing Dynasty, was approved by the State Council to be listed in the Sixth Batch of national key cultural relics protection units.

architectural composition

Wanshou temple is a magnificent building with deep court and broad mansion, magnificent buildings and beautiful buildings. Among them, qulan corridor, Yushu stele Pavilion, Qingshi rockery, ancient road underground palace, green pines and cypresses are well arranged, covering an area of more than 30000 square meters. The temple is divided into East, middle and West roads. The middle road is the main building. There are seven courtyards within the mountain gate. To the north, there are Tianwang hall, Daxiong hall, Wanshou Pavilion, Dachen hall, yubeiting Pavilion, wuliangshou Buddha Hall, Wanshou tower, etc. on both sides of each hall, there are auxiliary halls and rooms. There are three rockeries behind the great Chan hall, symbolizing the three mountains of Putuo, Emei and Qingliang. There are three halls of Guanyin, Manjusri and Puxian on the rockery, and the imperial stele Pavilion behind the rockery. The Eastern road is the Abbot's courtyard and the garden, which is the living area of monks. During the reign of Emperor Qianlong, the west road was changed into a palace.

On the top of the Mountain Gate of Wanshou temple, there is a stone plaque granted by the emperor in the second year of Shunzhi reign of the Qing Dynasty, which reads "build Wanshou temple to protect the country". The brick carvings on both sides of the mountain gate and on the shadow wall of the mountain are of fine composition, which are rare fine works of art. On both sides of the chest high Yu wall tiger skin base, Zhu wall white top, clear color. Entering the mountain gate is the heavenly king hall. In front of the hall, the left bell tower and the right Drum Tower. Yongle bell, known as the "king of bells", was once hung here.

After the main hall, Wanshou pavilion was rebuilt in recent years. The original pavilion was destroyed by fire in the Republic of China. The great Chan hall at the back of the pavilion is the place for the chair to give lectures. The rockeries and rocks behind the hall and the vigorous pines and cypresses are all things of hundreds of years. There is a rockery, symbolizing the three mountains of Putuo, Emei and Qingliang Buddhism. On the mountain, there are three great hall of scholars. The main hall is Guanyin, Manjusri on the left and Puxian on the right. Behind the mountain, there are two ancient ginkgo trees separated on both sides, and the experienced twigs and leaves of qiugan rise into the clouds. Then there are Qianlong imperial stele Pavilion, wuliangshou Buddha Hall, Guangxu imperial stele Pavilion, thousand Buddha Pavilion, etc.

There are two foreign style doors on both sides of Wuliang Buddha Hall, which were built in Qianlong period of Qing Dynasty. They are the same age as the western style building of Yuanmingyuan. They are the products of the combination of Chinese and western. The gate is connected with the mountain climbing corridor and pavilions on the West Road, and also connected with the wooded earth mountain on the East Road.

The west road is a part of the palace, which was built during the reign of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty. In the front part, there are four small courtyards, which are divided into two by the middle road. On the left is the longevity dining room, on the right is the longevity tea room, followed by the palace where the emperor and Empress Dowager stay. There are mountain climbing corridors on both sides behind the hall, and through the pavilion to the back building. According to legend, Empress Dowager Cixi in the late Qing Dynasty used to dress here, so it is called "dressing house". Then there is the great compassion hall and the auxiliary hall, and there is a well Pavilion in the courtyard, which is specially for the emperor to lecture. East Road is the Abbot's courtyard. In the front, there is a big hall, a big kitchen and a monk's house. In the middle, there are the hall, the front room and the south room. After the hall, there is a Tushan, and finally a single courtyard.

Art collection

Beijing Art Museum is a comprehensive art museum, "hiding" in this famous ancient temple. The collection of nearly 50000 ancient works of art started in the primitive society and ended in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, especially in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. There are a wide range of collections, including calligraphy and painting, stele and celebrity letters, palace embroidery, palace porcelain, ancient furniture, coins and seals. Others, such as bronzes, jade, bamboo and wood dental horn, Buddha statues, snuff bottles and so on, are numerous. There are masterpieces of calligraphy and painting by Qi Baishi, Zhang Daqian and Xu Beihong. The museum also has a collection of more than 100000 ancient books from the Song Dynasty to the Republic of China.

Tourism information

Opening time: 9:00-16:00 from Tuesday to Sunday

Address: Wanshou temple, Xisanhuan North Road, Haidian District, Beijing

Route: take 74, 300, 323, 362, 374, 394, 482, 534, 699, TE5, te8, TE10, Yuntong 108, Yuntong 110, 944, etc. and get off at wanshousi station 100 meters south to the East

Self driving route: West Third Ring Road North Zizhuqiao North 200m Road East (south side of China theater).

Address: west side of Guangyuan gate, gaolianghe (Changhe), Haidian District, Beijing

Longitude: 116.31103515625

Latitude: 39.945934295654

Tel: 010-68413380

Ticket information: 20

Chinese PinYin : Wan Shou Si