Six years ago, when we visited Miaoying Temple, which houses the White Dagoba built by Nepali artist Arniko in Beijing, apart from a few dedicated devotees, the temple would rarely see visitors. The once bustling temple that in the past held countless rituals and fairs had become estranged even among those living in Beijing. Most of our friends and colleagues would send us photos of Miaoying temple during their visit after our relentless effort to promote it during our time in Beijing.

 

However, in 2023, when we arrived at the Miaoying, we were greeted by a substantial crowd of Chinese visitors of various age groups waiting in queues to enter the temple. For Nepali passport holders, entrance remains free, and there is no queue: a small privilege if you will. The entrance to the temple holds an elaborate exhibition that signifies the 750 years of the founding of the White Dagoba temple. The exhibition was thoughtful enough to include an entire room of sketched stories of Arniko’s life pasted from the book Arniko Chitrakatha that was originally presented by the Nepal-China Executive Council.

 

The new souvenir shop inside the temple premises had a wave of customers. To our surprise, the store manager Hu Jiyu, who was self-teaching himself Nepali language, passionately told us about his interest in tracing the roots of Arniko. Hu intends to come to Nepal soon to research the history of Arniko and cultural heritage that captures Nepal-China exchanges. The Miaoying Temple had never felt this vibrant before.

 

 

Ranjana script painted on the ceiling of the halls in the Miaoying Temple.

The temple is located in Beijing, which remains geographically distant to Nepal as compared to other southern Chinese cities. One can argue that Nepal shares more rich culture and history with Beijing than it does with most other countries in South Asia. Yet, when it comes to promoting awareness of our culture in Beijing, there has been very little effort from the Nepali side.

 

We are still reliant on the Chinese to promote tourism on our behalf. The Nepal-China cooperation exhibition at the Miaoying Temple was sponsored by three agencies, all Chinese entities as mentioned in the exhibition board. Miaoying Temple receives countless visitors in the surrounding café and restaurants with picture-perfect views of White Dagoba. The Arniko statue was brought to Miaoying temple from Nepal in early 2002 by Arniko Society in the presence of late eminent Sinologist Niranjan Bhattarai. However, without stepping into the temple, the visitors wouldn’t be informed about the Nepali artist behind the Dagoba, which is a huge miss for Nepal.