In 1711, Hongli, the fourth son of Yongzheng, the future Qianlong Emperor, was born in the East Academy (东书院) in this building.

In 1744, the Qianlong Emperor issued an edict of converting the Palace of Peace and Harmony into a lamasery, and the following Buddhābhiṣeka (开光 Kaiguang) of the Buddhist figure was executed in 1745.

[5] Subsequently, the monastery became a residence for large numbers of Tibetan Buddhist monks from Mongolia and Tibet, and so the Yonghe Lamasery became the national centre of Lama administration.

Since 1792, with the foundation of the Golden Urn, the Yonghe Temple also became a place for the Qing dynasty to exert control over the Tibetan and Mongolian lama reincarnations.

Reopened to the public in 1981, it is today both a functioning temple and highly popular tourist attraction in the city.

[4] The religious affair of the Yonghe Temple is handled by a Khenpo lama (管理雍和宮總堪布喇嘛) as the head of the monastery.

[4] It is worth noting that since 1936, the term used to address the religious head of the Yonghe Temple has changed from khenpo to abbot (CN: 住持)[8] (See the map attached) The Yonghe Temple is arranged along a north–south central axis, which has a length of 480 metres (1,570 ft), and covers an area of 66,400 square kilometres (25,600 sq mi).

And a path built for imperial carriages (Niandao) is situated between the front memorial archway and the Gate of Clarity and Prosperity.

The Hall of the Wheel of the Law functions as a place for reading scriptures and conducting religious ceremonies.

The temple has adopted the tradition of the Cham dance, or bujak in Manchu, shortly after its conversion into a lama monastery.

[11] Due to the closure of the Yonghe Temple in the Cultural Revolution period, the cham dance was also suspended.

Lines 2 and 5 of the Beijing Subway both stop at Yonghegong Lama Temple station, as do a number of city buses.