Travel Notes White Cloud Temple: The First Abbey of the Quanzhen Order
No. 9 Baiyunguan Street, Xicheng district. One of the three great abbeys of the Quanzhen school and the seat of the Taoist Association of China, covering some 60,000 square metres with about 12,000 built. Listed as a national protected site in 1988.
Four names, six hundred years
- 739: under Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, a Tianchangguan is built at Youzhou (today’s Beijing) to sacrifice to Laozi; one of the earliest Taoist monasteries in the north
- 1156–1161: the Jin emperor Wanyan Liang enlarges it and renames it Taijigong
- 1227: after Qiu Chuji returns from his summons by Genghis Khan, the Mongol court renames it Changchunguan; after his death his disciple Yin Zhiping builds a hall to the east, the Chushun hall, where his bones are buried
- 1394: Zhu Di rebuilds the complex, which takes the name Baiyunguan after the old name of the Chushun hall
- Qing dynasty: repaired under Kangxi, Yongzheng, Qianlong and Guangxu; most of what stands today is Qing work
- 1957: the Taoist Association of China is founded here
Walking the axis
Screen wall, pailou, mountain gate, hall of the guardian spirit, hall of the Jade Emperor, hall of the seven masters, hall of Qiu, pavilion of the three purities, and the Yunji garden.
- Mountain gate: three bays, hip roof, a board reading “Baiyunguan, built by imperial order”, a pair of stone lions in front
- Hall of the guardian spirit: Wang Lingguan is worshipped inside; the murals, depicting him subduing demons, are Ming work
- Hall of the Jade Emperor: five bays, single-eave hip roof, a fine painted ceiling, a bronze statue of Yuandi, and a Ming bronze censer in front
- Hall of the seven masters: formerly the seven-real hall, holding the seven Quanzhen disciples, where the priests read the scriptures and perform rites; a board reading “Langshen zhenjing”, written by the Kangxi emperor, hangs inside
- Hall of Qiu: formerly the Chushun hall, three bays under green glazed tiles, a Ming sculpture of Qiu Chuji with his bones in an underground chamber below
- Pavilion of the three purities: two storeys; the upper holds the Three Purities (Yuchi Yuanshi Tianzun, Lingbao Tianzun and Daode Tianzun), the lower the four sovereigns
- Yunji garden: the rear garden, built in the Qing, with rockeries, pavilions and a covered walk called Xiaopenglai
Two collections not to miss
One is the canon kept in the upper storey of the pavilion of the three purities: the Daozang of the Zhengtong reign, 5,305 juan, compiled by imperial order and the only official edition still in existence.
The other is the stone script of the Laozi, written by the Yuan calligrapher Zhao Mengfu, now in the corridor of steles inside the grounds.
The Yanyou festival
On the nineteenth day of the first lunar month the temple keeps the Yanyou fair in memory of Qiu Chuji’s birth, a custom that began in the Yuan and has never stopped. It is now part of Beijing’s intangible cultural heritage, and the grounds fill from morning to night with incense, snacks and folk performance.
Practical information
- Hours: 8:30–16:30 in summer, 8:30–16:00 in winter. Closed Mondays except public holidays
- Tickets: 10 yuan; half price for seniors over sixty and students
- Phone: 010-63463531, the temple office
- Metro: Line 1 to Muxidi, exit C, about fifteen minutes on foot
- Bus: routes 26, 45, 80 and special 19 to Baiyunguan
- Driving: no parking in the grounds; use street parking on Baiyunguan Street or the lot under Tianning Bridge
- Note: no smoking or loud voices; do not use flash photography; respect the rites and do not touch the statues
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