The Lama Temple

On Thursday, we went to the Lama Temple near the center of Beijing. It was once a palace, but in 1744 the emperor who lived there had traveled to many places in China and after seeing that so many people were poor and unhappy, he turned the palace into a temple for everyone to enjoy. After you enter the gate, there are temples to honor different Buddhas. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside the temples but we could outside. As you move through each temple toward the center of the palace grounds, each Buddha becomes more and more important. The Buddha in the center temple is 55 feet high (with another 20 feet below ground) and was made out of one piece of wood. He is so big, the temple had to be built around him. Outside of the temples, people burn incense as a way of sending messages up to their ancestors. The girls spun drums, touching the symbols on them as they turned. They are prayer wheels. They also threw coins into a fountain for good luck.