Huizong Temple

CHINA, Inner Mongolia, Xilingol

The temple holds a very important and influential position in Tibetan Buddhism in Inner Mongolia, and has the greatest number of incarnate lamas. Construction of the temple started in 1691 during the Qing dynasty. In 1706 Emperor Kangxi (reigned 1661–1722) sent Ngawang Lobsang Choden, the Second Changkya Khutukhtu, to reside at the temple. Upon the completion of the temple in 1721, it was named Huizong Temple. Unfortunately, it was damaged a number of times and the main hall and side halls were destroyed in warfare in 1945. It was listed as a National Cultural Heritage Site in 2001.
Originally, the temple complex consisted of three sections, with the main temple area at the center, and the compounds of the incarnate lamas and of the government officials on either side. Within the incarnate lamas’ section there were formerly ten separate compounds. Currently, only the gate, main hall, and side halls of the Changkya Khutukhtu Compound remain, in addition to the temple’s main gate, Heavenly King Hall, and rear hall.
The building complex is Chinese with Mongolian, Manchu, and Tibetan features. The gate for the Changkya Khutukhtu Compound is three bays wide and three bays deep with a flush gable roof. The gate stands on a stone base that is 1 m high and has arched doors and windows. The main hall of the Changkya Khutukhtu Compound is built of brick and wood and has a double-eave hip-and-gable roof. It has two stories: the lower story is seven bays wide and five bays deep, while the upper story is five bays wide and three bays deep. On top of the main hall is a bronze prayer wheel. The interior of the main hall is elaborately decorated.