It is one of "The Three Great Ancestral Courts" of the Quanzhen School of Taoism and is titled "The First Temple under Heaven".

From 1125 to 1215 when what is now Beijing was controlled by the Jin dynasty, the abbey served as the Taoist administrative headquarters and played an important role in state ceremonies.

The abbey was damaged when the Mongols took over in the late 13th century and, during the Ming dynasty, the Palace of Eternal Spring was destroyed.

[2] Under the Ming, clergy from the Zhengyi school took over operations of the abbey but continued Quanzhen traditions and ordination ceremonies.

Zhengyi control over the temple continued until the 17th century, when their monopoly ended and the Quanzhen master Wang Changyue (王常月; d. 1680) took over.

Unlike many other historical sites which were being destroyed during the Cultural Revolution, the White Cloud Temple managed to survived but was also damaged.

[5] The monastic community holds a twice-daily office in the Laolü Hall, and it is where ordination certificates are issued.

[5] Out of 20 Quanzhen ordination seminaries in the Qing dynasty, the White Cloud Temple was the most important of all.

[6] Every year on the 19th day of the first lunar month a festival is held at the abbey in celebration of Qiu Chuji's birthday.