In a padlocked China, young people tempted by the temple

Special Envoy to Beijing

Planted in a plastic bucket, the bamboo tubes pop up between bottles of mineral water, coating the sweet sticky rice.

A delicacy from Yunnan to entice tourists who gather in front of the ocher walls enclosing the pagodas with golden roofs of the Temple of the Lamas.

This sanctuary nestled in the hutongs of old Beijing is rediscovering the crowds of the pre-pandemic period, in this spring, and its fairground atmosphere.

But the faces have rejuvenated in front of the altars planted with incense sticks of this imposing complex dedicated to Tibetan Buddhism, which overlooks the second ring road of the Chinese capital.

At the entrance, a long accordion queue of thousands of people stretches patiently, in front of the official shop selling bracelets of incense, reputed to bring good luck.

The majority is made up of young people, couples or friends, storming this site which was for a long time the prerogative of families and elders.

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