The temple was a monastery of the Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism and is now open to the public as a museum.

In 1961, "Miaoying Temple White Pagoda" was announced by the State Council of the People's Republic of China as one of the first batch of national key cultural relics protection units .

The temple's famous white stupa also dates to the Yuan Dynasty to house a relic of the Buddha.

However, the present-building dates to the Ming dynasty as well as its given name, "Miaoying Si", meaning "Temple of Marvellous Response".

[1] In 1961, then Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai signed a Proclamation stating that the Temple was to be protected as a National Treasure.