My fascination with tombs continues in Beijing

Visiber Study Tour in Beijing, China Part 2.

I visited the Yonghe Temple or affectionately known as the Lama Temple. The Lama Temple is a temple and monastery of the Geluk school of Tibetan Buddhism located in the northeastern part of Beijing, China. Building work on the Yonghe Temple started in 1694 during the Qing Dynasty. It originally served as an official residence for court eunuchs but later converted into the court of Prince Yong (Yin Zhen), a son of the Kangxi Emperor. After Yongzheng's ascension to the throne in 1722, half of the building was converted into a lamasery, a monastery for monks of the Tibetan Buddhism. The other half remained as an imperial palace.

The next day, I had my fix of morbidness when we went to visit the Mings Tombs -- the general term for the Royal tombs of the Ming Dynasty. The site of the Ming Dynasty Imperial Tombs was carefully chosen according to fengshui principles. According to these, bad spirits and evil winds descending from the North must be deflected; therefore, an arc-shaped arc at the foot of the Jundu Mountains, north of Beijing was selected. This 40 square km  area- enclosed by the mountains in a pristine, quiet valley full of dark earth,tranquil water and other necessities as per fengshui - would become the necropolis of the Ming Dynasty.

Enjoy my report, part 2:

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