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The stone tablets, or steles, stand in the Buddhist temples all over China, some for more than 1,000 years. Commonly used to document the date of a temple's establishment and the circumstances it was founded upon, steles contain vital information for historians. They can, for example, help them determine whether a temple's construction was part of a larger government building project. Some steles refer to famous objects that were housed inside the temples, helping to show what was considered valuable. Other writings help provide insight into the people of the region. In the Fayuan Temple located in Beijing, there are six steles with inscriptions that date back to the Ming and the Qing dynasties. 
                                                           More Information and Photos of Fayuan Temple

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