The Lama Temple (Yonghegong) is the Lamasery of the Yellow Hat Sect of Lamaism. Situated in the northeast part of Beijing city, it was originally built in 1694 as the residence of the Qing Emperor Yongzheng before he ascended the throne and was renamed Yonghegong later. After he passed away in 1735 his coffin was once placed there. Emperor Qianlong, the successor, changed his father's old residence into the Lama Temple In 1744 because the dead Emperor believed in Lamaism when he was alive. Like other Buddhist temples, the Lama Temple has a lot of buildings and enshrined many Buddha statues. But the architecture style is very unique. The Tibetan style and Chinese style were well combined each other. The most famous Buddha statue, carved from one piece of tree, which was listed in Guinness Record is the statue of Maitreya Buddha. The statue is 18 meters above ground and 8 meters under ground. In the temple you can see a lot monks and a lot of Buddhists to present incense, which is very interesting.

Pictures of the Lama Temple:

Arch Gate	Gate	Lion
Bell Pavilion	Incense Burner	Smiling Buddha
Tablet Pavilion	Hall of Ever Blessing	Hall of Buddhist Wheel Law
Zongkaba Statue	Hall of Ten Thousand Buddha	Tangka

More tourist attractions in Beijing:

The Forbidden City The Tiananmen Square The Summer Palace The Great Wall The Ming Tombs The Lama Temple The Hutong Tour The Panda Bear Zoo The Temple of Heaven Beijing Olympic Green