Beijing White Cloud Temple: The Foremost Temple of Quanzhen Taoism
Overview
Beijing White Cloud Temple, located at No. 9 Baiyunguan Street, Xicheng District, Beijing, is one of the three ancestral temples of the Quanzhen School of Taoism and the seat of the Chinese Taoist Association. The temple was first built in the 27th year of the Kaiyuan reign of the Tang Dynasty (739 AD), originally named Tianchang Temple, renamed Taiji Palace in the Jin Dynasty, and Changchun Palace in the Yuan Dynasty. After reconstruction in the 27th year of the Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty (1394), it was named White Cloud Temple. The temple preserves a large number of buildings, steles, murals, and Taoist artifacts from the Yuan to Qing dynasties, covering an area of about 60,000 square meters with a building area of about 12,000 square meters. White Cloud Temple is not only an important religious activity site in Beijing but also significant material for studying Taoist history, architecture, and art. In 1988, it was listed as a National Key Cultural Relic Protection Unit.
