White Dagoba Temple (Photo source: enet.com.cn)

White Dagoba Temple (Baita Si) is located at the Western District inside Beijing City. It got its name from a white old dagoba inside the temple. The White Dagoba standing over 50 meters high. It is the largest Dagoba from the Yuan dynasty (1280-1368AD) still in existence. The temple was completed in under the supervision of a Nepalese architect and it was considered an aesthetic masterpiece. White Dagoba Temple originally had the name "Temple of Great Holy Longevity and Eternal Peace". It was named "Miaoyingsi" after it was rebuilt in the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644). The common people call the Temple by its more popular name, the White Dagoba Temple.

History

The White Dagoba has its own history of more than 700 years. It was initially built from 1271 to 1279 during the Yuan Dynasty and was designed and constructed by a famous Nepali at that time. In the same year after the dagoba was built, a magnificent temple was constructed with the dagoba as its centerpiece. more

Architecture

There are altogether three Halls in the temple. The first one is exhibits on the history of the temple, as well as a display of several of the priceless Buddhist treasures that were discovered when the Pagoda was being renovated in 1978. The second Hall is an impressive display called the Hall of 10,000 Buddhas. Al-though there are not actually 10,000 statues in the Hall, there are over 7,000 of them, Walking into the Hall is a breathtaking sight, the place is literally covered in Buddha statues on all four walls. Behind this Hall is the Hall of Seven Buddhas, Which is home to seven large Buddha statues, as opposed to the thousands of little ones, behind this is the White Pagoda itself. Although visitors are not allowed to go up on the Pagoda itself, there is really not much to go up on, there are no doors leading into the structure. more

How to get there: Subway Line 2 (Loop Line) at the Fuchengmen Station

Edited by CRIENGLISH.com

Back to "Buddhist Temples in Beijing"