Miaoying Temple

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The Miaoying Temple (妙应寺) is a Chinese Buddhist temple on the north side of Fuchengmennei Street in Xicheng District of Beijing. The temple is also sometimes known by the name of "White Stupa Temple", as in reference to the famous white stupa situated in the center of the monastery.

There were temples built on the sites since the Liao and Yuan dynasties. The temple's famous white stupa also dates to the Yuan Dynasty. However, the present-building dates to the Ming Dynasty as well as its given name, "Miaoying", meaning "Divine Retribution".^[1]

In 1976, the temple and its series of buildings were seriously damaged by the Tangshan earthquake. The top of stupa tilted to one side, and the bricks and mortar supporting the stupa crumbled off, and many relics were broken.

In 1978, the Beijing Department of Cultural Relics undertook the task of repairing and renovating the temple. The courtyards, the four corner-pavilions, the Hall of the Buddhas of the Three Ages, the Hall of the Heavenly Kings (Tianwangdian) in front of the stupa, the Hall of the Seven Buddhas and the stupa itself were repaired and renovated.^[1]