The White Cloud Temple (Beijing Baiyunguan) has long been the most active Taoist temple in Beijing and remains this way today. The Temple was the First Taoist Monastery in the North when it was founded during the Tang Dynasty. The building was reconstructed during the Jin dynasty and renamed in 1209 and 1227 formally becoming Baiyun or The Temple of the White Clouds.

In Chinese, Taoist temples are not actually called temples, but Guan . Guan means something like to look at or observe. This is a reflection of the Taoist belief that understanding the Tao comes from a direct observation of nature, rather than scholastic theological studies.

The Baiyun Temple is actually a series of different buildings including a bell and drum tower, a pagoda and a small garden. Nowadays it is still an important Taoist site and opened to the public in 1984. The Chinese Taoist Association and the Chinese Taoist College were all founded here. The annual Baiyunguan Temple Fair is one of the most famous temple fairs in all of China.

Address of Baiyun Temple: Baiyunguan Street, just off Binghe Road.