Fuhui Temple

CHINA, Inner Mongolia, Chifeng

The temple is one of the earliest and best preserved prince’s residences in Inner Mongolia and has features typical of an ancestral temple. It was built during the rule of Emperor Kangxi (reigned 1661–1722) of the Qing dynasty. It was later expanded and flourished during the rule of Emperor Qianlong (reigned 1736–1795). It was listed as a National Cultural Heritage Site in 2001.
The temple faces south and covers 1.9 ha, of which 1 ha is occupied by buildings. Along the central axis, from south to north, the buildings are the main temple gate, Heavenly King Hall, front hall, assembly hall, Great Hero Hall, and a building at the rear. At the sides there are the front side hall, the bell and the drum towers, central side hall, and the rear side hall, which is the college. There are two Tibetan stupas in front of the assembly hall.
The main buildings are colorfully decorated with a variety of patterns, including dragons and phoenixes, round floral designs, eight kinds of jewels, auspicious animals and motifs. The assembly hall has a double-eave hip-and-gable roof with a veranda and a rear portico, and is decorated with brick carvings. The Great Hero Hall has a double-eave hip-and-gable roof with plain ridges. The temple also preserves a large number of important artifacts, such as Buddha statues, canonical scrolls, thangkas, and Dharma instruments.