The White Cloud Temple is located on White Cloud Temple Street outside Xibianmen, Xicheng District, Beijing. It is the ancestral temple of the Quanzhen Longmen School of Taoism and also a large and long-established Taoist temple in Beijing.
The architectural layout is rigorous, with the central axis as the core. Buildings such as a screen wall, a decorated archway, and a mountain gate are arranged in sequence. There are many halls in the temple, such as the Hall of the Spiritual Officer, the Hall of the Jade Emperor, the Hall of the Ancient Discipline, and the Hall of Ancestor Qiu. Each hall has its own characteristics. Different gods are enshrined in the halls, some are solemn and majestic, and some are kind and peaceful. These god statues have exquisite craftsmanship and vivid shapes, reflecting a high religious artistic value. The Hall of Ancestor Qiu is one of the core buildings in the White Cloud Temple. It enshrines Qiu Chuji, the founder of the Quanzhen School of Taoism. Incense curls up in the hall, and believers worship here piously, praying for peace and blessings.
A large number of precious cultural relics and inscriptions are preserved in the White Cloud Temple. These inscriptions cover a long historical span and record important information such as the development and changes of the temple, the deeds of high-ranking Taoists in different dynasties, and Taoist doctrines, having a very high value for historical and cultural research. For example, the calligraphy art of some of these inscriptions is exquisite. The font is either simple and vigorous or elegant and lively, which is an important material for calligraphy enthusiasts to study the evolution of ancient calligraphy.
In terms of traditional customs, the White Cloud Temple has a unique charm. The folk temple fair during the Spring Festival every year is extremely lively, attracting many citizens and tourists to participate. People can experience traditional folk activities such as touching the stone monkey and throwing coins through the copper coin-shaped hole here, feeling the strong Taoist cultural atmosphere and the flavor of old Beijing. The White Cloud Temple is not only a religious shrine but also an important place for inheriting and promoting Taoist culture and traditional Chinese culture. With its profound historical deposits, rich cultural connotations and unique folk activities, it occupies an important position in many fields such as religion, culture and tourism and has become a unique business card of Beijing's urban culture.
