Photography Mail Entrance to the Yonghe Temple

A black-and-white photograph showing the main entrance to the Yonghe Gong 雍和宫 or “Temple of Serenity and Harmony” temple complex in Beijing. In the Qing Dynasty, the temple was the seat of Tibetan dignitaries and housed nearly one thousand monks. Adorning the entrance to the temple complex is a three-part triumphal arch pailou 牌樓 – a traditional Chinese architectural element erected to commemorate an important person or as an entrance to important places. Like the triumphal arch in the photo, they were usually built of wood or stone and had a roof covered with glazed tiles. They generally had three passages, the main passage in the centre and one on each side. The communist regime had many of the city’s triumphal arches demolished, viewing them as remnants of feudalism; in the last two decades, it has restored them to their original state as an important cultural heritage.

The Manchu rulers promoted Tibetan Buddhism (or Lamaism) and encouraged visits by high religious dignitaries and the construction of numerous Tibetan temples in Beijing and the surrounding area. Yonghe Temple is nearly seven hectares in size and has 661 separate rooms, nearly half of which are dedicated to the worship of the Buddha and the performance of rituals. The temple complex stood in the northeastern part of the Inner City (nei cheng 内城) at the northern end of the long avenue Chongwenmen Dajie 崇文門大街, more commonly called Hademen Dajie 哈德門大街 by Westerners. The building was first used by the Manchu princes. In 1744, Emperor Qianlong had it converted into a temple. During his reign, 1,500 Tibetan and Mongolian lamas lived here. In 1949, the temple was declared a cultural heritage site and it is still open to the public.

The photograph is the 193rd of 449 photographs of Beijing and its surroundings in the album of Ivan Skušek Jr., purchased during his stay in Beijing (1914–1920). In the handwritten inventory of the album, the photograph is referred to as Lama- Kloster: Tor . (DZ, MV)