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Push for Ancient Temple to Become World Heritage Site

Beijing is making efforts to have the ancient Yunju Temple in the southern suburbs of the capital designated as a World Heritage Site. The temple is famous for its collection, the largest in China, of 14,278 stone tablets bearing Buddhist scriptures. The tablets were inscribed over six dynasties, including the Sui (AD581-618) to the Ming (AD1368-1644), a process that lasted 1,039 years.

The temple also has seven towers from the Tang Dynasty (AD618-907) and five from the Liao Dynasty (AD 916-1125) as well as some reliquaries. One of the Tang pagodas is the oldest in Beijing. A meeting at the temple early last month marked the 45th anniversary of the discovery of 10,082 of the stone tablets, according to sources.