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| walking the central pathway to the various temples |
One of the last tourists sites we visited was the Lama Temple (Yonghe Gong). Originally built as a mansion in 1694 for Emperor Yongzheng when he was a prince. After he ascended to the throne and moved into the Forbidden City, this complex converted into a Lama Temple. His son invited hundreds of lama from Mongolia to stay permanently after the emperor died in 1735.
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| one of many open fires to alight incense |
Today, it is a very popular place for the Chinese to come for daily prayers. It is also one of the most important lamaseries in the world. We were struck at the amount of incense for sale before entering the temple-- a small bundle of sticks. But, when we got inside, we realized that there were at least three major temples at which to give thanks and prayers to the Buddha.
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| the imperial lion guarding in the courtyard |
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| bundles of incense to offer the various Buddhas |
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| one of the pavilions for the bells |
One of the striking things about the Lama temple is in the Pavilion of A Thousand Happinesses, where a 26 meter tall (only 18 meters of it are above ground) Buddha made out of a single piece of white sandalwood. It absolutely towers over you.
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| sandalwood Buddha |
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| the Pavilion of a Thousand Happinesses |
Once we left the temple, we wandered down the street and entered into the sweetest tea shop. The three ladies in the shop were very helpful and friendly. One was able to speak English quite well and explain to us the various teas and tea pots displayed. We were offered samples of some delicious teas- mainly green teas or flower teas. Will and one of the ladies spent some time really going over the various green, grey, black, and flower teas displayed in huge canisters. Everything was bought by weight and we ended up purchasing lots of different types of teas and teapots and tea caddies. It was a really cute shop and for once I asked to get their photo.
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| picking out teas with help |
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| The lovely shop ladies, measuring out some flower tea for us |
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