Wanshou Temple

A former imperial temple on the northwestern outskirts, built in the late sixteenth century to store Buddhist scriptures and later expanded as a resting station for the imperial family traveling by canal to the summer gardens. Its layered courtyards, glazed archways, and rear rockery garden survive alongside a fine hall of Buddhist images. Today the complex houses a municipal art museum whose collection ranges across bronzes, ceramics, and calligraphy. Standing beside a historic waterway, it links court religion with the tribute canal.