Lama Temple | Spirituality in Beijing

One of the most spiritually important places in Beijing is Yonghe Temple, also known as Lama Temple. It's a gorgeous maze of temples, ornate statues and prayer areas which to this day is still used as a fully functioning monastery. You'll see plenty of monks wandering the grounds and making use of the prayer rooms. After passing a few traditional gates you walk down a long driveway into the temple area where there are five main halls broken up by courtyards. Once inside the smell of incense hits you throwing you into an entirely different atmosphere from the smog of Beijing. Smoke rises from various fire pits. It's a place where tourists and locals mingle, the former to observe and learn, the latter to pray. The Lama Temple is well known for having some beautiful architecture with traditional Chinese buildings and artwork. One of the halls houses the 18m tall statue of the Maitreya Buddha who is the future Buddha. It's an incredible piece of work, as you walk into the hall you'll raise your head for much longer than you anticipate.

When you arrive you're given incense sticks which you later burn as you pray. Watching everyone kneeling down and bowing towards the temples and golden Buddhas I was first met with a hint of anxiety. I'd lit my incense sticks in one of the fire pits and stood on the outskirts of where people prayed, worried I might do it wrong, worried that I may offend some people. But everyone is refreshingly welcoming. Although you may not know the culture or even be of the same religion they're happy to have you there, even if it is just to 'try it out'. Kneeling in front of lots of people, incense sticks in hand and bowing as everyone else does you may not necessarily be met with some profound epiphany but you do feel a sense of importance creates a great time for self reflection.

 

A short walk from the Lama Temple you will find yourself quickly buried in the hutongs. They're narrow streets, like alleyways, which are formed by rows of traditional Chinese houses called siheyuan. In these you'll find an eclectic mix of shops. One which we went in sold all manner of succulents. A stand next to the door held botanical looking soaps while animal skeletons surrounded in glass dotted the place. You could see a Chinese copy of Kingfolk propped up in a copper stand as you walked in. Some of the other stores consisted mainly of clothing, and most of the buildings were cafes. One particular cafe we ventured into surprisingly has a free table in a corner next to the stairs. We squeezed ourselves in, lured by the resident cat. We stayed less than five minutes after finding that there was no hot chocolate on the menu and the cat had quickly become annoyed by our attention, choosing to bat our hands.

The hutongs is a curious place. Similar to the Lama Temple although the area is cloaked in tradition there's an awful lot going on through cameras. If you see a woman posing beside a door frame with her boyfriend taking photos you'll also guaranteed see three other people with expensive cameras also trying to catch the shot.

The Lama Temple is a must do in Beijing, not only for its beautiful architecture but also because of its spiritual importance. Not only will you walk around a place so unlike any other you'll learn about the Buddhist religion and experience a part of Chinese culture that goes so missed by many.