The Wanshou Temple is a temple located at the Suzhou Jie (Suzhou street) in Beijing

Beijing

Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...

. In addition to being a Buddhist temple, the Wanshou Temple also houses the Beijing Art Museum.

It was built in 1577 during the Wanli

Wanli Emperor

The Wanli Emperor was emperor of China between 1572 and 1620. His era name means "Ten thousand calendars". Born Zhu Yijun, he was the Longqing Emperor's third son...

 era of the Ming Dynasty

Ming Dynasty

The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...

 to store Chinese Buddhist scriptures; it also later became a permanent celebration place for the imperial families of the Ming and Qing dynasties.

The Wanshou Temple was known as one of Beijing's most important temples, and it was declared as one of Beijing's "Key Cultural Heritage of Preservation" in August 1979. The Beijing Art Museum housed in the Wanshou Temple has also collected and preserved precious historical relics such as bronze and jade articles of Shang

Shang Dynasty

The Shang Dynasty or Yin Dynasty was, according to traditional sources, the second Chinese dynasty, after the Xia. They ruled in the northeastern regions of the area known as "China proper" in the Yellow River valley...

 and Zhou

Zhou Dynasty

The Zhou Dynasty was a Chinese dynasty that followed the Shang Dynasty and preceded the Qin Dynasty. Although the Zhou Dynasty lasted longer than any other dynasty in Chinese history, the actual political and military control of China by the Ji family lasted only until 771 BC, a period known as...

 Dynasties (17th - 3rd centuries B.C), and ancient art treasures such as porcelain

Porcelain

Porcelain is a ceramic material made by heating raw materials, generally including clay in the form of kaolin, in a kiln to temperatures between and...

s, earthenware

Earthenware

Earthenware is a common ceramic material, which is used extensively for pottery tableware and decorative objects.-Types of earthenware:Although body formulations vary between countries and even between individual makers, a generic composition is 25% ball clay, 28% kaolin, 32% quartz, and 15%...

s, enamels

Vitreous enamel

Vitreous enamel, also porcelain enamel in U.S. English, is a material made by fusing powdered glass to a substrate by firing, usually between 750 and 850 °C...

, carved lacquer

Lacquer

In a general sense, lacquer is a somewhat imprecise term for a clear or coloured varnish that dries by solvent evaporation and often a curing process as well that produces a hard, durable finish, in any sheen level from ultra matte to high gloss and that can be further polished as required...

ware, ivory carving, wood carving, and many relics from past dynasties; it has a permanent collection of 70,000 items.

Among the most important items displayed in the museum includes Chinese paintings and calligraphies from the Ming and Qing Dynasties since 1368 A.D, Chinese weavings and embroideries of Ming and Qing Dynasties, and ancient coins of China and foreign countries. Modern Chinese, Japanese and other Asian arts and crafts and paintings are also displayed in the museum.