The Wanshou Temple () is a temple located at No.121, Wanshousi Road,

Haidian District Haidian District () is a district of the municipality of Beijing. It is mostly situated in northwestern Beijing, but also to a lesser extent in the west, where it has borders with Xicheng District and Fengtai District. It is 431 square km in ar ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...

. In addition to being a

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

temple, the Wanshou Temple also houses the Beijing Art Museum (北京艺术博物馆/北京藝術博物館). It was built in 1577 during the Wanli era of the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

to store Chinese Buddhist scriptures; it also later became a permanent celebration place for the imperial families of the Ming and

Qing The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

dynasties.Beijing Museums
/ref> The Wanshou Temple was known as one of Beijing's most important temples, and it was declared as one of Beijing's "Key Cultural Heritage of Preservation" in August 1979. The Beijing Art Museum housed in the Wanshou Temple has also collected and preserved precious historical relics such as bronze and jade articles of

Shang The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty founded by Tang of Shang (Cheng Tang) that ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty and ...

and Zhou dynasties (17th - 3rd centuries B.C), and ancient art treasures such as

porcelain Porcelain () is a ceramic material made by heating substances, generally including materials such as kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arises main ...

earthenware Earthenware is glazed or unglazed nonvitreous pottery that has normally been fired below . Basic earthenware, often called terracotta, absorbs liquids such as water. However, earthenware can be made impervious to liquids by coating it with a c ...

s, enamels, carved

lacquer Lacquer is a type of hard and usually shiny coating or finish applied to materials such as wood or metal. It is most often made from resin extracted from trees and waxes and has been in use since antiquity. Asian lacquerware, which may be c ...

ware, ivory carving, wood carving, and many relics from past dynasties; it has a permanent collection of 70,000 items. Among the most important items displayed in the museum includes Chinese paintings and calligraphy from the Ming and Qing dynasties since 1368, Chinese weavings and embroideries of the Ming and Qing dynasties, and ancient coins of China and other countries. Modern Chinese, Japanese and other Asian arts and crafts and paintings are also displayed in the museum. Wanshou Temple reopened on 16 September 2022 after a five-year renovation. Image:Wanshou_Temple.jpg, An entrance File:Wanshou Temple pic 1.jpg, A tower File:Wanshou Temple pic 2.jpg, Hallway File:Tongta.jpg, A pagoda located inside one of the halls

Transport

* Wanshousi station

References

{{Buddhist temples in Beijing Buddhist temples in Beijing Museums in Beijing Ming dynasty Religious buildings and structures completed in 1577 Art museums and galleries in China Ming dynasty architecture Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in Beijing