Pudu Temple

　　Pudu Temple in Dongcheng District, Beijing, is located on Nan Chizi Street. It was originally a temple built in the early Qing Dynasty. The site was once part of the Hongqing Palace in the southern city during the Ming Dynasty. It served as the residence of Dorgon, the Prince Regent (Prince Rui) of the Qing Dynasty. In the 33rd year of Emperor Kangxi’s reign (1694), the old Prince Rui’s mansion was rebuilt into Mahakala Temple. In 1776, Emperor Qianlong bestowed the name “Pudu Temple” upon it. The main hall features grand architecture with a high platform base in the form of a sumeru pedestal, spanning nine bays. Its roof is covered with yellow tiles bordered in green, while the front porch has green tiles bordered in yellow. The eaves have three layers of upturned corners—an uncommon feature in traditional architecture.

　　Due to historical reasons, after the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Pudu Temple area naturally developed into a high-density residential neighborhood. The main hall of Pudu Temple was turned into classrooms and storage space for a school, and the temple fell into severe disrepair, with its surrounding auxiliary halls completely gone. The restoration of Pudu Temple drew attention from many departments and individuals and was included in Beijing’s three-year “300 Million Yuan Cultural Relics Emergency Restoration Project.” The Dongcheng District government invested over 40 million yuan to relocate 186 households living on the temple platform, consolidated and relocated the Nan Chizi Primary School that had occupied the main hall, demolished nearly 5,000 square meters of dilapidated houses and illegal structures around the temple, completely vacated the heritage site, and carried out restoration work.

　　After the site was cleared, the restoration of Pudu Temple strictly followed traditional ancient building craftsmanship and the principle of preserving the original appearance of cultural relics. The painted dome inside the hall appears partially new and partially old, because the restoration prioritized the use of original architectural components, with newly replicated pieces used only when old ones were damaged or insufficient in number.