Choijin Lama Temple
Imperial court architect and Mongolian craftsmen · Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia · 1908
Choijin Lama Temple is a compact Buddhist monastery complex constructed in the early twentieth century for the state oracle Luvsankhaidav. Multiple timber temples, gates and courtyards are richly decorated with painted and carved details, creating a dense religious ensemble within what is now central Ulaanbaatar. Built from 1904 to 1908 by a large team of Mongolian craftsmen under an imperial architectural tradition, the complex survived the anti-religious destruction of the 1930s by becoming a museum. Its survival makes it one of the capital’s most important records of pre-socialist sacred architecture.