Yuxugong Temple

I thought I’d post some pics of the temple where we train every day.

This is Yuxugong Temple. It was built in 1413 by the 3rd Ming Emperor. Today it is hard to imagine what it must have looked like then, rich with ornate buildings and lush gardens. It was expanded in the 1500s, and over the following centuries it has burned down, been rebuilt, and burned down again.

Workers are now in the process of renovating it. In 2008, when I first came here, they had just re-roofed the surrounding wall and some of the remaining stone structures. They are now rebuilding the main altars, wood structures of which nothing was left but the footings. In a few more years, it will be a proper tourist trap and we wouldn’t want to train there anymore even if were permitted to. But for now it is beautifully run-down in places, and an inspiring place to train every day.

Keyed locations: 1) Entrance gate 2) Red gate (with inner and outer courtyards where we train) 3) Location of newly rebuilt minor altar 4) Location of newly rebuilt main temple building 5) Former hospital buildings which are now our dormitories.