The Lama Temple, once the palace of Prince Yong, was granted to the Tibetan community in 1744. This lamasery, one of the major attractions in Beijing, enjoyed great spiritual aura. In the Pavilion of Ten Thousand Happinesses, it contains a 24m-tall sandalwood Buddha, carved from a single block, and in the Yansui Pavilion a huge lotus flower, upon which various effigies of the Buddha of Longevity sit. The temple reopened for worship in 1981.