Some of Beijing's temples have a long history and are now open to audiences as museums that collect, protect, research, and display cultural relics. 

Beijing Art Museum 

Wanshou Temple was built in the fifth year of the Wanli period in the Ming Dynasty, covering an area of more than 30,000 square meters, and is a large-scale ancient building complex integrating royal temples, gardens and palaces. The buildings in the courtyard are divided into middle, east and west areas, and the main buildings of the temple are concentrated on the middle road, with a total of seven courtyards; the West area is the palace of the Qing Dynasty; East area is a living area for monks. 

In 1987, Wanshou Temple was officially opened as the Beijing Art Museum, which has a collection of more than 130,000 cultural relics, mainly including court embroidery, calligraphy and painting, ceramics, jade, coins, furniture, and other categories.

On September 16, 2022, after five years of renovation, the Beijing Art Museum opened to the public again. The open area this time is mainly the first six courtyards of Wanshou Temple and the abbot's courtyard, which is open to the public for the first time after repairing. Visitors can see the restored painted "Hong Fu Qi Tian" on the top of Shanmen Hall, as well as the Buddha statue displayed in its original state in the Hui Ri Chang Hui Hall. 

From the former Wanshou Temple to today's Beijing Art Museum, the Wanshou Temple, located on the north bank of the Nanchang River and known as the "Little Forbidden City of Western Beijing", is like a pearl witnessing the passage of time. 

Address: Wanshou Temple, West Third Ring North Road, Haidian District, Beijing

Translator: BAO Minmin

Reviewer: ZHAO Huinan