The Fayuan Temple, situated in the southwest quarter of Beijing, is one of the city’s most renowned Buddhist temples.  According to local record, the temple was first built in 645 during the Tang Dynasty by Emperor Li Shimin, and later rebuilt in the Zhengtong Period (1436-1449) of the Ming Dynasty. The temple occupies an area of 6,700 square meters and contains a large number of cultural relics, including sculptures of ancient bronzes, stone lions, as well as gilded figures of the three Buddhas-Vairochana.